THUNDER BAY – The volunteers at the Thunder Bay chapter of Bicycles for Humanity were thrilled to be back after a 5-year stint without a shipment.
Bicycles for Humanity has been steadily refurbishing unwanted or discarded bikes and shipping them to countries in need since 2006 up until 5 years ago when the group wasn’t able to raise enough money for bike shipments due to rising costs.
Now, Fabio Zorzes, a volunteer, said that, thanks to a new partnership, the group was happy to be back and working on another shipment.
“We partnered up with the organization called Afro Bikes out of Southern Ontario,” said Zorzes. “And we've partnered with them to the point where we can afford to ship, and this will be our first shipment in about 5 years so I'm happy to be able to do that.”
Each shipment consists of a container filled with 400 bikes and the Thunder Bay chapter has refurbished and shipped 16 containers over the years and, now that they're back, the group is always excited to see the community bring in their old bikes.
“We have a designated area at the city dump where they can drop their bikes off or else they can drop the bikes off here at our shop, 1131 Central Ave. We're here Monday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 or 1 p.m. somewhere around there,” said Zorzes.
“Or else you can go to our website, just Google Bikes for Humanity, Thunder Bay or B4H and it'll direct you to where you can drop your bikes off or even phone and someone will be happy to meet with you or maybe pick up your bikes.”
Beyond bikes, the organization also accepts cash donations which can be done by contacting the group through their Facebook pages.
“I'd like to say that we're doing something good for the betterment of humanity because not only are we diverting bikes that would normally be destined for the scrap,” said Zorzes. “We are also helping people in need of bikes and receiving a bike in an impoverished country like Africa can be literally a life changing event, so it's a win-win situation, we're very proud to be able to do that.”
