Trips for Kids International (TFK) is honored to announce a generous $10,000 donation received from long-time Trips for Kids advocate and Interbike Expo co-founder, Steve Ready. With these funds, Trips for Kids will continue to expand its reach across North America and worldwide to provide mountain bike outings, bicycle mechanics training and environmental education for low income, at-risk youth.
TFK Founder Marilyn Price has attended Interbike every year since 1989 to meet with industry leaders to secure donations of overstocked, blemished and outdated products for resale at the Re-Cyclery, TFK’s bicycle thrift shop. The collaboration between Price and Ready goes back to 1999 when TFK formed its international program.
The Re-Cyclery, perhaps the largest bicycle thrift shop of its kind in the country, provides the local low-income community with much needed alternative transportation at affordable prices. A model “green business”, Re-Cyclery gives a second life to bikes and equipment that would otherwise have gone into landfills. Everything sold at Re-Cyclery is donated by private individuals and by the members of the bike industry – over 300 companies, shops and clubs to date.
“Attending Interbike has been very important to the well being of Trips for Kids,” said Price. “The Re-Cyclery now supports over 50 percent of our annual program expenses. Without Steve’s support at Interbike and the industry contacts we have made through him we would not be where we are today. Many thanks to you, Steve, for your commitment to Trips for Kids and for helping us to get off to a great start in 2013.”
“I have always had the greatest admiration for Marilyn and her work on behalf of kids who need to experience the outdoors and the freedom that mountain biking provides,” said Ready. “Trips for Kids is a beautiful example of the power of one individual to change countless young lives for the better. Im proud to help support such a vital program – it has grown so much over the last quarter century and has brought so much joy to so many kids. On to the next twenty five years!”
Other major Trips for Kids donors include Adventure Medical Kits, Clif Bar, CST, Interbike, Park Tool Company, Planet Bike, Ritchey, Specialized, Team Duke and Trek. For a complete list of industry sponsors go to www.tripsforkids.org/national/sponsors.
