Spring 2022

Dear Donors and Friends of Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace,

It’s that time of year again: there is a brand-new newsletter on our website with great stories from Tanzania, Belize, Guatemala, Kosovo, and the distant hills of Warren County, New Jersey. This year we are excited to be breaking ground with new partners, further cementing fresh relationships, and maintaining programs with old friends.

We have had a great spring, collecting lots of bikes and sewing machines, but it has been challenging. This spring the cost of ocean freight is up 18%. Beyond that, Tanzania has temporarily closed its ports to new bookings due to the ripple effects of Covid-19 and intense congestion at its ports. Some of our containers sent in the fall arrived months later than originally anticipated. Our bicycles and sewing machines have been taking quite the journey!

As for the large gas-guzzling truck we drive around to pick up the bikes, you are all probably quite aware of the challenges of buying gasoline for a small nonprofit. This, paired with a 35% increase in the rental rate for the truck has made us a bit more reliant on successful collections and the generosity of our donors.

Other than dealing with price increases on nearly everything, we are having a fantastic collection season. Because our collection partners are ready to hold public events, we have doubled the number of collections from last spring. These strange and expensive times give us more motivation to continue our mission — now, more than ever, our neighbors overseas need bicycles and sewing machines.

We have a special offer for this solicitation period._ For every donation of $100 or more we will send you a P4P T-shirt. (Please indicate your size!) We really do need your financial help. There are a lot of costs associated with getting thousands of bicycles halfway around the world, but when successful we permanently lift people out of poverty. Your donation will change a life. Please donate today!

Sincerely,

David Schweidenback and Alan Schultz
Outgoing and Incoming Presidents, P4P/SP