World Bicycle Relief

ASSOCIATED SPORTS: Cycling, Triathlon
CAUSES SERVED: Disaster Relief, Economic Development, Education, Health, Poverty
AGE GROUPS SERVED: All
EMAIL: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
WEBSITE: http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/

"A bicycle is an industrial revolution in an individual's life." ~ F.K. Day | President, Co-Founder, World Bicycle Relief

With over 200 years behind it, the bicycle has proven to be one of the most remarkable inventions in modern times. Although there is much debate over who built the first bicycle, there is no questioning the impact it’s had around the world. Just the range of uses alone is amazing – from a child’s toy, to fitness & recreational use, to high end racing, to military/police applications, to courier services, to basic transportation of people and goods. In fact, several components that eventually played a key role in the development of the automobile were invented for the bicycle, including ball bearings, pneumatic tires, chain-driven sprockets, and spoke-tensioned wheels.

In many rural parts of the world, where poor roads and infrastructure make access to food, water and basic services like healthcare and education extremely difficult, a bicycle can literally be life changing. That’s what the team behind World Bicycle Relief realized back in 2005 when the organization was created in response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami, providing over 24,000 bicycles to help the people of Sri Lanka rebuild their lives and their communities. Since then, World Bicycle Relief has expanded to provide services across the African continent, with over 105,000 bicycles and 750 trained mechanics in the field, bicycle assembly facilities in Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and a unique approach to personal empowerment through job development, education, microfinance and social enterprise.

Take a quick ride through the World Bicycle Relief story and learn how the amazing two wheeled invention continues to change the world…

It was an exciting week in baseball, especially for San Francisco Giants fans! On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, Matt Cain pitched a perfect game - the first by any Giants pitcher since the team was established in 1883. That's 130 years for those of you who aren't great at math.

Cain led the Giants to a 10-0 victory over the Houston Astros in the 22nd perfect game in MLB history. While reaching one of the most elite clubs in Major League Baseball, Cain threw 125 pitches, the most ever thrown in a perfect game, and struck out 14 batters, matching Sandy Koufax's total for the most K's in a perfect game.

Needless to say, AT&T Park felt like it was right back in the 2010 World Series. The energy was electric. As both a sports enthusiast and environmentalist, I can't help but feel the game was even more perfect because the historical moment took place in one of the greenest ballparks in the world.

The Olympic Torch Relay is one of the great traditions of the Olympic Games. The flame is lit in Greece at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, and passed on to the host country, where it winds its way through big cities and small towns, until it's presented at the opening ceremonies to signify the start of the games. This year, the journey covers 70 miles across the UK, with the torch carried by over 8,000  individuals, including one of the most inspirational people we've had the pleasure to meet in the sports nonprofit space...

Paul Clarke is the founder of the Great Football Giveaway, a group of dedicated folks who do one simple thing and do it very well: Get sports equipment to the world's poorest children...

"Paul, 38, founder of The Great Football Giveaway charity, has dedicated his life to hand-deliver over 20,000 footballs to kids in the world's poorest countries & mentors UK volunteers to follow his example. A simple idea to take a bag of balls to Malawi in 2006 grew into an epic journey. Following prolonged fundraising efforts, Paul's mission was to get sports equipment directly to the world's poorest kids. Paul has witnessed extreme poverty in Malawi, navigated landmines in Angola, seen rehabilitation of child soldiers in Rwanda & smuggled balls across the border into war-torn Congo; doing whatever it takes to get balls directly to the kids. Paul is an inspiring individual to his local community; determined to help put smiles on kids' faces by ensuring no child is denied the simple pleasure of kicking a ball about. Paul represents the Olympic spirit of peace, hope, respect & friendship."

It must be inscribed in the "Mom's Handbook" or just hardwired into the Mom DNA - take care of the family first and yourself when you get a chance. But the American Cancer Society wants Moms everywhere to know that it's time to "Choose You" to stay healthy and reduce their risk of cancer.

The ACS message to Moms is clear: "In the constant struggle between family, work, and self, we know how difficult it is to focus on you. To help change this, the Choose You program provides the tools and support women need to commit to and achieve their personal health and wellness goals." And this month, the message is "Choose Play in May" as they're looking to inspire 100,000 acts of play for women across the country.

A big part of the campaign is getting the word out that diet and exercise are directly related to your cancer risk. "It's not one thing that's going to change your risk," said Colleen Doyle, Director, Nutrition and Physical Activity at the American Cancer Society, "it's all things combined." To that point, the ACS Choose You campaign is built around 5 simple messages - Eat Right, Get Active, Quit Smoking, Get Regular Health Checks, and Protect Your Skin.

The ACS Choose You movement kicked off it's 2012 push with events in 3 cities this month, including a stop in LA this past week. The concept is simple: Choose Play and get back to fun activities that will keep you healthy and reduce your cancer risk. An ACS survey found that 40% of women said they would be more physically active in their free time if it felt less like work and more like play. So the Choose You events were designed to make fitness fun again, using  hula hoops, hoppity-hop balls and double Dutch jump ropes and the Skip-it (yes, the 80's are making a comeback in more than just music and fashion!).

And how does the health care industry feel about this? Well, just ask the folks at Quest Diagnostics, whose support of the Choose You program includes distributing 10,000 vouchers women can redeem online to schedule a free Blueprint for Wellness® screening at a Quest Diagnostics patient service center. Each screening participant will receive a personalized My 5 to Health report with biometrics and laboratory test results for diabetes and heart disease risk, a Metabolic Syndrome risk score, and a "tear out" summary page they can take to their doctor

While we're certainly the biggest proponents of making social good a priority in the sports industry, we also realize these efforts can have their fair share of challenges, from identifying the right relationship, agreeing on goals to addressing the financial hurdles. And then, there are often logistical issues to making a for-profit/nonprofit collaborative program a reality, especially when scaling up on a level where it can have significant national impact. When you have 635 locations around the country and over 11,000 employees, these issues are a definite reality. But that didn't seem to slow down the folks at Finish Line, one of the nation's leading athletic footwear retailers.

As a company, Finish Line is already well beyond the standard "pick a charity - write the big check - take the photo - get the story" scenario. The company's charitable arm - Finish Line Youth Foundation (FLYF) - has been active since 1998 through grants supporting programs around the country that "place an importance on youth development and a healthy, active lifestyle" as well as emergency funds for disaster relief, providing aid in recent years to the communities of Joplin, Southern Indiana, New Orleans and Haiti.