St John's Collecting Bikes and Sewing Machines for Charity

Saint John's Memorial Episcopal Church and Pedals for Progress (www.p4p.org) will sponsor a used bike collection from 9 AM to 12 noon on Saturday May 3rd, 2014 rain or shine at the Saint John’s parking lot on East Main Street at corner of Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey.  Anyone with an adult or child’s bicycle in repairable condition is urged to donate it to this worthy cause.  (We cannot accept “bikes for parts” or disassembled bikes.) We are also collecting working portable sewing machines. 

P4P collects 5,000 to 7,000 bicycles annually and transfers this material wealth to those in need.  To date, more than 140,000 bikes have been shipped to developing countries in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Eastern Europe.  In these countries, the bikes are reconditioned by partner agencies and distributed at low cost to poor working adults.  These bikes provide them with reliable transportation for commuting to work, transporting produce to market, or accessing health care and other services.  Steady employment for these adults is vital to the development and success of these economies. Children’s bikes enable children to go to schools which may otherwise be too far from their homes.

It costs $40 to collect, process, ship, repair and distribute each bicycle.  A donation toward shipping costs is requested (suggested minimum $10 per bike). All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site.  

For information about Saint John’s, the bike collection, and the church’s other activities, please call the church office at 201-327-0703 or email Saint John’s at ellen.joyce@stjohnsramsey.org. You can also view the church’s website at www.stjohnsramsey.org  The church’s weekly worship schedule includes Sunday Services at 8am and 10am, with church school (September – June) and child care available year round during the 10am service, plus a Celtic Mass on Wednesdays at 7:30pm.