Collecting Used Bicycles

         Are you looking to get rid of a bicycle that’s old, broken, or outgrown?  Your chance will come in May – with the bike going to a good cause. 

       Two Cheshire worship communities will unite on May 19 to collect used bicycles for the Massachusetts-based charity Bikes Not Bombs.  The bicycles will be distributed to poor people in developing countries around the world, providing cheap, sustainable, badly needed transportation.    

        Volunteers from Congregation Kol Ami and the First Congregational Church of Cheshire will receive the bicycles from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on the church Green, located in the center of Cheshire. 

           All sizes and types of bikes may be donated, whether working or broken: road, mountain, hybrid, tandem, BMX, and others, of all sizes – adults or children.  Also welcome will be bicycle tools; accessories such as helmets, lights, and locks; cycling clothing; and bicycle parts.

            The drive will not accept any bikes that are rusty; exercise bikes; kick scooters, or anything motorized.            

           “Congregation Kol Ami is pleased to participate in this extraordinary interfaith effort to promote economic opportunity and community empowerment worldwide,” said Rabbi Joshua Ratner of Congregation Kol Ami. Added the Rev. Jeffrey Braun, Senior Minister of First Congregational Church: “We are pleased to unite with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and with donors from the entire area, in this important world service project.”

         Each year, Bikes Not Bombs collects thousands of used bicycles and parts, refurbishes them, and ships them overseas to economic development projects in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.  Using the bikes, people in need are provided with better access to health care and jobs, leading to more economic opportunity.  Some bikes go for repairs to low-income neighborhoods in the Boston area, teaching young people job skills and responsibility.

      For further information on the collection drive, call the First Congregational Church office at 203-272-5323.