YMCA seeks old bikes for charity

HARDYSTON-The Sussex County YMCA is sponsoring a used bike collection for Pedals for Progress. The Y will accept any adult or child's bike in reparable condition. The bikes will be accepted on from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Sussex County YMCA at 15 Wits End Road in Hamburg. Every year, affluent Americans buy 22 million new bicycles and discard millions of old ones. Most old bicycles end up in landfills, while many more go unused in our basements, garages and sheds. Meanwhile, poor people overseas need cheap, reliable transportation to get to jobs, markets, customers and schools. Pedals for Progress is a non-profit organization which collects more than 11,000 bicycles annually and sends them to those who need them. To date, more than 90,000 have been shipped to developing countries in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific Islands, where they are reconditioned by partner agencies and distributed at low cost to poor working adults for use as basic transportation. "This program allows people to discard old and used bicycles in an environmentally friendly way and at the same time it provides low cost transportation for people who really need it," said Kurt Haas, executive director of the Sussex County YMCA. The YMCA and Pedals for Progress will also be accepting working sewing machines and tools, especially wrenches for overseas shops. All cash and material donations are tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site. For more information, call Joanne Browne at the Sussex County YMCA, 973-209-9622 ext. 209.