Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Long Island (RPCV of LI), in partnership with the Ethical 
Humanist Society of Long Island, is collecting used bicycles and sewing machines on Saturday, April 1 (rain or shine), from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Ethical Humanist Society, 38 Old Country Road, in Garden City (at the western end of Old Country Road, next to the water tower). Items collected will be refurbished by the international project Pedals for Progress & Sewing Peace and sent to developing communities overseas.
Anyone with an adult or child’s bicycle in repairable condition or a working portable sewing machine is urged to donate the item. The program does not accept “bikes for parts,” disassembled bikes or tricycles. It costs $40 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle. A donation toward shipping costs is necessary (suggested minimum $10 per item). All cash and material donations are fully deductible and a receipt will be provided on-site. This is the 14th bike/sewing machine collection organized by RPCV of LI and the second time it has been co-sponsored by the Ethical Humanist Society.
Huntington resident Kathy Williams-Ging was the first to suggest a bicycle collection to RPCV of LI. “I lived in Peru as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in 1971 and 1972 without a vehicle,” she says. “I learned first hand what it was like to depend on public transportation all of the time. Having a bicycle makes life easier in many ways: getting to work or school, going to the market or reaching the clinic.”
Since beginning this collection, RPCV of LI has collected 1294 bicycles and 100 sewing machines. Floral Park’s Alison Pratt, who is the coordinator of the drive at the Ethical Humanist Society in Garden City, says the collection is an expression of the values of the Ethical Humanist Society to do what we can to help people to live their best lives. “Donating a used bike or idle sewing machine is an easy way to make a huge difference in the life of someone who doesn’t have the resources we do,” she says.
For more information, call Bette Bass at 516-606-1400 (email [email protected]) or Kathy Williams-Ging at 631-549-4873 (email [email protected]).
