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Mar 3, 2007

"Consider a man riding a bicycle. Whoever he is, we can say three things about him. We know he got on the bicycle and started to move. We know that at some point he will stop and get off. Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it. That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things." --William Golding

Pedals for Progress

Pedals for Progress operates on the principle that "people need a hand up not a hand out." They work with partners in developing countries who repair used bikes shipped from the US and sell them at steeply subsidized rates to the working poor. The income from sales not only creates jobs for people repairing the bicycles but also provides money for the next shipment of bicycles. Each shipment gives more than 400 people access to affordable transportation and provides at least 10 full-time jobs; all in all, they've shipped over 100,000 bicycles. "The goal is to make our partners self-sufficient, create meaningful jobs while providing the people of these less developed countries with an affordable and reliable means of transportation which unleashes their entrepreneurial spirit," said David Schweidenback, founder of Pedals for Progress.