When she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia in the 1960s, Bette Bass of Massapequa saw first-hand the usefulness of bicycles. 
“We lived out in the countryside,” said Bass, who with her late husband Bob, taught in a secondary school in the country. “There was no public transportation. People walked or if they had money, had a donkey or a horse. A bike was very useful.”
On Saturday, April 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bass and members of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Long Island will be at the Massapequa Library, located at 40 Harbour Lane accepting donations of used bicycles, sewing machines and cash for Pedals for Progress, an international organization that rescues unwanted American bicycles and sewing machines and sends them to communities overseas.
Pedals for Progress has received, processed and donated over 143,000 bicycles, nearly 3,000 sewing machines and $10.8 million in new spare parts to partner charities in 38 developing world countries.
“The donation of one bike or sewing machine can literally help put food on the table and smiles on the faces of a whole family,” said Bass.
In many countries, ownership of a bicycle can have a critical effect on whether or not an individual is able to get to a job or school; it has been found that income goes up 14 percent when a family has a bicycle. Additionally, Pedals for Progress promotes bicycle repair businesses in the developing world. A community owned non-profit bike store will get its first containerized cargo shipment for free (about 450 bicycles); that repair store then has to earn enough money selling the repaired bikes to pay for the next shipment and a useful community-based business is established.
According to Bill Reed of Westbury, many people benefit from this activity.
“Not only are we helping people overseas but this provides people here with the opportunity to rally around a cause and help in a very practical way,” said Reed, who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, Africa, from 1967 to 1969.
David Schwidenback, the president of Pedals for Progress, noted that the collection on April 18 will be sent to FIDESMA, a non-profit, non-political, non-religious development foundation in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
“The Long Island Returned Peace Corps volunteers have been integral to the success of Pedals for Progress by effectively recycling the bicycles and sewing machines of Long Island,” said Schwidenback. “Of the many organizations that collect bicycles annually, the LIRPCV collections have consistently been the most successful. Their efforts have lifted thousands of people permanently from poverty in Central America, Africa and Eastern Europe.”
Schwidenback told the story of how 20 sewing machines shipped to Albania helped five disadvantaged young people gain employment making cloth bags to replace plastic bags from stores. In three months, 3,000 bags were sold. Even better is the fact that their overhead so far is zero, since the material comes from coffee companies and donated clothing.
According to Bass, bikes should be rust free and bikes with flat tires in need of some repair are accepted as well. However, tricycles are not accepted. Each person who donates is also asked to donate $10 per bike (tax-deductible) to help defray the cost of shipping the bicycles. Those donating sewing machines should make sure the machines are in working condition.
To learn more about Pedals for Progress, visit their web site at www.p4p.org. For information about the April 18 collection, call Bette Bass at 516-606-1400 or Kathy Williams-Ging at 631-549-4873. The program is also accepting cash donations from corporate and community sponsors.
