The total amount raised during the holiday campaign will help provide more than 11,000 bicycles to students, health workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs in rural countries based on the representative cost of each bicycle.
WATERLOO, WI – January 13, 2022 – This past holiday season, Trek Bicycle in partnership with its global retailers and World Bicycle Relief teamed-up for a joint campaign to benefit communities in remote and underserved regions by providing a way to use the power of the bicycle to conquer the challenge of distance and achieve independence. Throughout November and December 2021, people across the world were able to make donations to World Bicycle Relief on trekbikes.com and at Trek retailers globally with Trek matching donations up to $500,000. Trek surpassed its fundraising goal of $1M and raised a total of $ 1,818,918.
The fundraising achievement will help provide more than 11,000 bicycles, based on the representative cost of each bicycle, to students, health workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs – who will now all have a Buffalo Bicycle that is specially designed to meet their needs. Buffalo Bicycles will be placed in the African and South American countries in which World Bicycle Relief works including Zambia, Kenya, Colombia, and Zimbabwe. Buffalo Bicycles are simple, easy-to-maintain bikes that are durably built to haul people and cargo over long distances.
"Trek and Trek retailers have been important partners since the founding of our organization back in 2005, playing a key role in the product development process that resulted in the Buffalo Bicycle," said World Bicycle Relief CEO, Dave Neiswander. "Together we are excited to bring hope on two wheels and continue to help individuals and communities thrive."
"I'm super proud of the Trek family for crushing our goal and raising $1.8 million for World Bicycle Relief," said Trek Bicycle President, John Burke. "World Bicycle Relief is a great organization, and this is a meaningful sum of money that will change the lives of over 11,000 families."
In just under two months, more than 7,000 donations came in from individuals and organizations across 27 countries. Additional fundraising milestones include:
· Average donation amount: $171.51
· Country with the most donations: United States
· The most popular way to donate: Online through trekbikes.com
Additional campaign contributions included Trek's women's cycling team donating €659 of their season's prize money, Golazo Sports of Belgium donating €150,000, and Scheels All Sports of the United States donating $50,000.
To learn more about World Bicycle Relief's efforts, visit worldbicyclerelief.org.
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About Trek Bicycle
Trek Bicycle is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of bicycles and related products. Trek believes the bicycle can be a simple solution to many of the world's most complex problems and is committed to breaking down the barriers that prevent people from using bicycles more often for transportation, recreation, and inspiration.
About World Bicycle Relief
Founded in 2005, World Bicycle Relief mobilizes people through The Power of Bicycles®. World Bicycle Relief accomplishes its mission by distributing specially designed, high-quality bicycles through philanthropic and social enterprise programs. These purpose-designed bicycles are built to withstand the challenging terrain and conditions in rural, developing areas.
Entrepreneurs use bicycles to increase productivity and profits. Students attend class more regularly and their academic performances improve. And health workers visit more patients in less time, providing better, more consistent care. World Bicycle Relief also promotes local economies and long-term sustainability by assembling bicycles locally and training field mechanics to service the bicycles.
To date, World Bicycle Relief has delivered more than 600,000 bicycles and trained more than 2,500 field mechanics in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. World Bicycle Relief is a registered nonprofit in the USA, Canada, U.K., Germany, Switzerland and Australia, and has assembly facilities in Colombia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
