The Church: The Community Church in Harrington Park
The Challenge: Find a hands-on way to engage church members and the community in outreach
One Key Idea: Partner with a nonprofit to achieve goals the church couldn’t on its own
When David Schweidenback first sent used bikes he’d collected to Rivas, Nicaragua, nearly 24 years ago, the Central American city was in shambles, he says.
“There were no businesses in town, no gas, it was in the middle of a war,” he says.
Fast forward to today, and it’s “a booming, thriving, metropolis,” Schweidenback says, adding that transformation can be traced directly to the 21,000 bikes he’s sent Rivas over the decades, nearly one per person.
“They’re still poor, but they have greater aspirations,” he says. “The bikes give them hope.”
Residents of the 35-plus Third World countries Schweidenback’s nonprofit Pedals For Progress has shipped roughly 137,000 bikes to over the last 24 years use them to get to school and work, both of which are critical to climb out of poverty and make a living, he says.
“Mobility is a real key to success,” he says. “The basis of any economy is transportation. My mission is economic growth.”
Pedals For Progress ships the used bikes it collects with thousands of dollars in repair kits, so locals have jobs fixing them up, he says, adding the bikes are then sold for pennies on the dollar.
About one-third of the bikes are collected from nonprofit civic organizations such as Rotary Clubs, and another one-third come from students. The final portion is donated by churches and other religious organizations.
Among churches that aid the cause is The Community Church in Harrington Park, N.J. (see Page 40), whose members have held used bike collections many times over the years.
Mary Ann Schran, a member of the church’s outreach committee, says the efforts engage church members and the community.
“You can ask people for money, but this is sort of a hands-on work, a service,” she says, adding Pedals for Progress’ secular status is of no concern.
“It’s not Christian focused,” she says, “but it’s the right thing for the right reason.”
