Collectors, Peace Corps

Report from Vermont, Fall 2019

Fall 2019 Newsletter

On 21 September 2019 the Vermont Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (GMRPCV) held their annual collection. Vermont Knights of Columbus groups also held a September collection. The combined shipment from Vermont contained 139 bikes and 95 sewing machines, including the 500th sewing machine from the GMRPCVs. Here are the reports.

Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

By Joanne Heidkamp

We packed a total of 245 items into 4 containers: 139 bikes and 95 sewing machines. We also shipped 25 new bike seats donated by Terry bicycles.

A highlight of the day was receiving our 500th sewing machine, a lovely Bernina donated by Lucy Beck, of Shelburne, Vermont.

We collected $1,795 in cash and checks. You’ll be receiving a separate check for $410 for Mary O’Brien’s 41 lovingly tended sewing machines. Several people did not donate items, but have emailed me asking about sending shipping money directly to P4P — including a woman who works for USAID in Albania! And I hope to get $150–$200 for the 7 sewing machine cabinets that I have listed on Craigslist. Individuals in the group absorbed several hundred dollars in costs, including pizza and snacks, postage for the reminder postcards, plywood, … We can confidently say P4P will have $10 per item in hand by Thanksgiving.

Quality of the bikes and sewing machines was great overall, with a few really nice, high value items.

Thanks to everyone for their help. Thank God it’s only once a year!

Knights of Columbus, District #1, Fairfax, Vermont

By Ed Nuttall

Ed Nuttall, Peter Fitzgerald, and Bob Thompson

On 7 September 2019 members of Knights of Columbus Council 10830 held a bicycle collection at Langelier’s Car Wash. Fairfax Council 10830 and Milton Council 10417 (Police and Fire Department contribution) collected fifty bikes. The bikes were stored in Pete Fitzgerald’s barn. We also collected 5 sewing machines.

The following Knights participated: Bob Thompson, Doug Lantagne, Peter Fitzgerald, Keith Billado, Skyler Billado, Greg Hartmann, and Ed Nuttall.

On 20 September, we loaded 53 bikes onto a trailer and delivered them to Burlington, where, along with the bikes and sewing machines collected by the Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, they were loaded onto a FedEx truck for delivery to the P4P/SP trailers in Glen Gardner, New Jersey.