#GivingTuesday

"We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give."

So please take this day to give back and spread your generosity to help issues, topics, organizations, and anything else you are passionate about.

We also hope you will consider providing a bicycle for an orphan. A bicycle is not only a tool for transportation but also a symbol of hope and independence for their future.

http://www.givingtuesday.org/

Focus on Children Now
http://www.focusonchildrennow.org/

Letters from Kayelisha Care Project

After our delivery to Khayelisha Care Project we were blown away when the kids sent the most heartwarming letters from the orphans. We were glad to see that the children are enjoying their bikes and their gratitude towards us. You can learn more about these wonderful kids by visiting their Facebook Page: Khayelisha Care Project . 

You can find more photos: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=501419786652690&id=297058373755500

Our 1st Video Highlighting Our Progress

We are pleased to share this video with you. Thanks to Casey Shatraw for helping us put this video together and to the many volunteers and supporters who helped us to get to this point.

In addition, a special gratitude to Focus On Children Now Organization, for taking us under their wing and helping us to achieve the 501(c)3 not-for-profit status and mentoring us throughout the process.

$1000 Donation!

Rotary Club of Glendale, CA (Noon) was one of the first organizations that supported us 2 years ago. They were vital in helping us reach the $25,000 millstone year to date.

Today we were invited by the Club's President Mrs. Elizabeth Manasserian, to give a progress report. By the end of our talk, we were presented with another $1000 check! We were blown away by their kindness and their faith in our project.

Thanks to this Rotary Club, more orphans will have access to education through bicycles. 100% of the money we raise goes directly to purchasing a bike. Thank you again everyone at Rotary Club Foundation for their donation. We are truly humbled.

Thanks Shawnt & Mathew for a job well done.

Thank Kentron TV for your coverage

Ms.Tsovina Hayrapetyan, was one of the reporters who accompanied us when we delivered bikes to "lady of Armenian" summer camp (August 2014). This video is in Armenian language, but we are grateful for her help in trying to publicize our cause.

Successful Delivery of 50 bikes to Armenia!

We are thrilled to announce that the delivery of the 50 bikes to four different Armenian orphanages and day camps was a huge success. Once again we were a witness to the power of bicycles. The bicycles brought joy and happiness to all the children. The bicycles will provide the children who have very little possessions with countless hours of fun as well as a mode of transportation to various places around their village. Out of the four Armenian orphanages and day camps we delivered bikes to, the Bikes 4 Orphans team was able to visit two of the locations. At Bridge of Hope in the village of Dillijan we delivered a bicycle and a tricycle to a day camp for disabled children as well as children from impoverished families. In addition, we visited an orphanage/summer camp where we delivered 30 bicycles in the village of Tsakhkadzor . The remaining 18 bicycles were delivered to another orphanage and a children's hospital. This could not have been possible without the extraordinary collaboration with Focus on Children Now, especially Karine Aboolian and Anahid Kalantaryan. Also thank you to our parents for financing this life-changing trip! Full albums, videos and detailed reports will be posted tomorrow!

Pictures on our Facebook page here

Off to Armenia!

Today, the Bikes 4 Orphans/FCN volunteer team are leaving today to go to Armenia to deliver the 50 bicycles to the orphans there. We will be posting pictures and updates on our Facebook page and blog regularly. If any of you are in Armenia in the next two weeks please message us if you would like to be part of this experience.

Also, a huge thank you to Velo Pasadena for providing us with 6 Specialized Air Tool Pumps. We are very thankful for their support. They are the same bicycle store that helped us deliver the 50 bicycles to Armenia. Be sure to like their Facebook page and visit their store on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena.

Website: http://www.velopasadena.com

4th Orphanage Delivery!

Bikes 4 Orphans is thrilled to announce that twenty bicycles were recently delivered to "The Daos Children Centre," in Kenya. This is the second Kenyan orphanage that we have been privileged to work with.

An overwhelming majority of the orphans were eager to receive bicycles after Johnathan Munyany, the orphanage's director, asked the children what they wanted for Christmas in 2013. The wish of numerous orphans has been conquered through an outstanding number of generous donors and various organizations. A Christmas gift was delivered, in addition to a tool of transportation for simpler access to educational facilities, work, and family. The power of a bicycle will assist in creating a bright future for the orphans of "The Daos Children Centre." 


Thank you to everyone who has supported Bikes 4 Orphans and for those who are considering supporting Bikes 4 Orphans we hope that we have shown the impact your donations can make. We are very proud to have helped four orphanages in three different countries and we are looking forward to continued success.
For more pictures visit our Facebook page here


Here are ways you can support Bikes 4 Orphans: 

• Donate at www.bikes4orphanages.blogspot.com
• Be a sponsor for our 2nd Bike-a-thon scheduled for this fall
• Like/Share our Facebook Page and Twitter (@Bikes4orphans)

$2,200 donation by students at Sumner Elementary School in Claremont!

After speaking about Bikes 4 Orphans a couple months ago at Sumner Elementary School in Claremont, the students worked hard to raise money for our cause. These children are an inspiration to us all. They took the initiative to help other children thousands of miles away so they can also go to school and have a better chance at a brighter future. This is a wonderful example of children helping children. Thank you so much to these awesome students for donating over $2,200!!!! And a special thanks to Mrs. Bazela for recognizing our organization and our potential to make a difference!!

For more pictures check out our Facebook Page here:

Bicycles to 2nd Orphanage delivered at Khayelisha Care Project in South Africa!!!

Good news! With the help of Qhubeka (an affiliate of World Bicycle Relief), we were able to deliver 11 bikes to the Khayelisha Care Project in Tugela Ferry, South Africa last week. Andrea, the director of the orphanage, requested bicycles for the children last summer. The Khayelisha Care Project is a "step down" facility for children that cannot go home after they are released from the hospital. Some of the children have been there for a few years due to no home or parents to go back to. The children can use the bikes to go to school and when they get older they can use them to find jobs around town. In addition, bicycles give them the independence and resources they need to travel to different places so they can create a better future for themselves. We were able to buy all 11 bicycles through funds donated by the Rotary Club of Glendale Noon. Thank you so much! And thank you to all our wonderful supporters!!

Below are some of the pictures that Andrea was able to send. She will send more next week!

If you would like to help our cause please donate here and under "AIM" write "Bikes 4 Orphans"

Check out the blog post about the bicycle delivery by Qhubeka here:

Bikes are ready to be shipped to Armenia

I am very excited to announce that the bikes for Armenia have finally arrived from the distributor (Pacific Cycles) and we will be sending the shipping container with all 50 bicycles to Armenia this Saturday. We purchased all these bicycles using the money we raised from our Oct. 2013 Bike-a-thon and Hike-a-thon. Thank you everyone for their support! And a special thanks to Karine from Focus on Children Now, Vatche from Bike for Hope for Armenia, Hrach from Velo Pasadena and everyone else who donated their used bikes. We could not have done this without all your help!!!

Velo Pasadena and Bike for Hope for Armenia

        We have an exciting update to share with you all! Initially, we began the bike collection drive because we could not find any organizations that would sell us bicycles for a cheap price as well as deliver them to the Armenian Orphanage. Our plan was to collect bicycles here in Los Angeles and then use the Focus on Children Now shipping container to send them to Armenia. We found a much easier and efficient solution to our dilemma when we met Vatche Soghomonian, the founder of Bike for Hope for Armenia. He organizes annual bike-a-thons in Armenia to raise money for various community projects like building schools. Through Vatche, we met the owner of Velo Pasadena, Hrach Gevrikyan. After learning about our problem, he offered to sell the 40 bicycles we still needed to donate to the Armenian orphanage at cost. Each brand new bicycle would range from $90-$120. He was the solution to our problem and we are very thankful for his generosity. Now we can deliver all 50 bicycles with the help from Hrach as well as the used bicycles donated by generous and kind donors through our bike collection drive. That means we have accomplished our goal thanks to many individuals who wanted to help the lives of orphans and give them a chance at a better future through the power of bicycles.

If you are interested in learning more about Bikes for Hope for Armenia and donating to this great cause please visit: http://www.bikeforhopeforarmenia.org/

If you live in the Los Angeles area, we definitely recommend checking out Velo Pasadena for their great products and bicycles: http://www.velopasadena.com/

If you are interested in joining the Bike for Hope for Armenia Bike-a-thon 2014 please read the
document above. For more information please email us at Bikes4orphanages@gmail.com

Students at Sumner Elementary School helping out Bikes 4 Oprhans

       A couple weeks ago, the librarian, Marleene Bazela, of Sumner Elementary School read our article on the LA Times. After reading about our story, she was motivated to help our cause. I was honored yesterday to speak in front of the students ranging from Kindergarten to Sixth Grade. I was very surprised how they attentively listened, asked great questions and replied correctly to every one of my trivia questions. We are also humbled that Bikes 4 Orphans was chosen for their annual fundraiser. Thank you Sumner Elementary School for your generosity!

Sumner Elementary School website: http://sumner.cusd.claremont.edu/

The Rotary Club of Glendale, Sunrise Bikes 4 Orphans Presenation!

Last Friday, Sean and I did a presentation for the members of the Rotary Club of Glendale, Sunrise. We were invited after they heard about our presentation at the Rotary Club of Glendale, Noon. We were honored to spread our message and mission to such distinguished guests. We had a wonderful time and met great people that have shown great interest in Bikes 4 Orphans. Thank you to all the members for inviting us and letting us share the morning with you!

Sean and I presenting at the breakfast meeting for the
Rotary Club members.