The Largest Gift We’ve Ever Received

December 26 was Christmas day for Pedals for Progress. Because on that day we received a gift of 72 acres donated by the family of Hans F. and Charlotte M. Stoffel in their memory. This most unexpected boost to our dream of building a permanent facility was helped in great part by one of our newest board members, Jeremy Doppelt. His real estate expertise, and selfless work on our behalf, was instrumental in making this happen.

In our 17-year history, this is the largest donation of any kind that we’ve ever received, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Nonprofits are among the organizations hardest hit financially in this difficult economic climate. Grants and corporate funding have tapered off significantly, while operating expenses continue to rise. So receiving a donation of this size—and one so important to the longevity of our organization—is truly amazing.

We offer our sincerest thanks and gratitude to the family of
Hans F. and Charlotte M. Stoffel. Their gift is huge for us, but most important, it will help us provide thousands of working poor the means to pedal out of poverty. This is a gift that will certainly change many peoples’ lives for the better.

Every year, affluent Americans buy 22 million new bicycles and discard millions of old ones, abandoning many more unused in basements, sheds, and garages. Most of these end up in our already overburdened landfills. Meanwhile, poor people overseas need cheap, non-polluting transportation to get to jobs, markets, customers, and schools. Pedals for Progress has received, processed and donated over 115,000 bicycles, 1,000 used sewing machines and $10.8 million in new spare parts to partner charities in 32 developing world countries.

Furthermore, Pedals for Progress promotes bicycle repair businesses in the developing world. Typically, a community owned non-profit bike store will get the first containerized cargo shipment for free (about 450 bicycles), but that repair store then has to earn enough money selling the repaired bikes to pay for the next shipment.

Pedals for Progress isn't just donating used bicycles: It's also helping developing world economies by promoting self-sustaining bicycle repair businesses.

Watch a Video about Pedals for Progress!
Listen to a Podcast with founder Dave Schweidenback
Live far from NJ but still have a bike to donate?
Click here to learn how to ship your bike to P4P!