Challenge

About the Challenge

$110,000 goal for the kids of Bike Works!

Our Mileage Challenge, which is Community Bike Works' biggest annual fundraising event, is from September 18th to October 2nd, with our finale party on Monday, October 7th!

We're excited that for our 2024 event, supporters can donate to our cause for every mile ridden, or at a flat amount. By connecting your Strava account to your fundraising page, you can easily keep track of your progress and see how much you've raised and ridden throughout the Challenge.

Your participation in the Mileage Challenge not only promotes healthy living in our community, but also supports the kids of Bike Works in our flagship Earn a Bike and other leadership and mentoring programs. Thank you for your support!

Sample Messages You Can Use

Feel free to use the drafted messages below as you reach out to friends and family for support!

Asking for Support in Email:

Dear FRIEND,

I am riding in the 2024 Community Bike Works Mileage Challenge to support the kids of Community Bike Works as they learn life lessons through bicycles. From September 18th to October 2nd, my goal is to log YOUR MILES GOAL miles in support of youth bike mentoring!

This ride means a lot to me. The funds we raise will support kids of Bike Works as they participate in Earn a Bike. Over a month of lessons, students learn how to repair a bike of their own while riding safely on city streets—all while learning important life skills like communication and teamwork. Each year nearly 600 students across the Lehigh Valley participate in these lessons and earn their bike and a brand-new helmet of their own! Visit communitybikeworks.org to learn more about this great organization.

Can I count on your support? Please donate to my fundraiser at YOUR PAGE.

If you prefer to donate via check,  please use the mail-in donation form found at www.CommunityBikeWorks.org/challenge Just write my name in the Rider Designation field and mail it along with your check to the address on the form.

Your donation will support a very effective youth mentoring organization. At the end of the Challenge, we will see which teams and individuals raised the most funds and logged the most miles!

“People should know that Bike Works does things to make people happy, but also there are some ground rules, to make sure no one feels left out or feels unsafe,” Arriyanna, 10, told us. “We go to the park and we ride on our bikes, and we get to race people and have challenges. I really like bike rides because I can feel the air and I can feel myself relax. My favorite day was when it was my first day at Bike Works. I found out what we do, I got to pick out my own bike, clean it, pump the tires, change the tires, and change the grips. It was my favorite day because I felt welcomed here.”

Thanks for helping me get active in support of Arriyanna and kids all across the Lehigh Valley!

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

Asking for Support through Text:

Hey FRIEND,

I am getting active and tracking miles in the 2024 Community Bike Works Mileage Challenge!

Can I count on your support? Please make a donation to my page at YOUR PAGE LINK.

A donation of any amount will help me reach my goal and support the kids of Bike Works as they learn life lessons through bikes. You can learn more at www.CommunityBikeWorks.org/challenge

Thanks so much for your support!

Will You Join My Team?

FRIEND’S NAME—

Hi! I hope you are doing well.

I know that you stay active a lot these days, and so I wanted to ask: Would you be up for joining my Community Bike Works Mileage Challenge team?

The Challenge is Community Bike Works’ biggest fundraiser of the year and a critical way we raise funds to allow kids to participate in their Earn a Bike and other bike mentoring programs. The Challenge runs from Wednesday, September 18th, through Wednesday, October 2nd. For those 2 weeks, everyone on our team will ride (or walk, spin, jog, etc - It’s OK to ride an ebike!), in support of the kids of Bike Works.

You’d pledge the number of miles you think you'll go, and the number of dollars per mile you would like to raise by asking friends and family to support your ride (We suggest a goal of $200, but that’s just a suggestion—the participation is the important part.) Then we get active! Over the 15-day Challenge, we’ll have incentives and other perks to keep things fun, and we have really cool medals and prizes for the teams with the most miles and donations.

If you’d be up for joining me, I’d be thrilled! You can sign up at the Mileage Challenge site: https://charity.pledgeit.org/communitybikeworks and picking my team: XXXXXXXXX. FAQs are at: https://communitybikeworks.org/challenge and I’d be happy to answer questions.

It would be great to “ride” with you in this way. Thanks for considering!

Thanking your Donor

Dear DONOR,

Thank you so much for your donation to my Community Bike Works Mileage Challenge team.

Community Bike Works offers high quality mentoring programs that use bicycles to connect youth with caring adult and peer mentors. Each year, nearly 600 students across the Lehigh Valley complete Earn a Bike and Junior Earn a Bike, their flagship mentoring programs.

Many bike mentoring students tell us the skills they learn and the connections they make in Earn a Bike help them elsewhere in their lives. “Before I was in Bike Works, I didn’t really make smart decisions. When I started coming here, I could start making a difference in my community,” Edwin, 16, told us. “Going out of my house and knowing that Bike Works kids might see me has helped me make better choices. In a way, we help the kids be safer, just because they know that someone from Bike Works is in the neighborhood and watching out for them. I was at my house and I saw one of my students riding without his helmet. I went outside and I told him, ‘Hey man, you have to wear your helmet.’ And now he wears his helmet.”

Your donation will directly support Community Bike Works' youth mentoring programs. Thank you so much for making a difference in a child's life!

Get Involved!

Sign up as an individual and raise funds to support the kids of Bike Works! Your friends, family, or workplace can support every mile logged with just a few cents per mile. Prizes are awarded to those who log the most miles and raise the most funds. Ride, run, spin, or walk as many miles as possible between Sept. 18th & Oct. 2nd to see if you can be this year's top fundraiser!

Forming a Mileage Challenge team is a great team-building exercise and a fun way to connect with friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues! Create a team of up to 8 folks and support each other as you see how many miles you can ride, run, spin, or walk, while also meeting team fundraising goals. Teams compete for the most miles logged and

Show Less

Form a Team

More Ways to Support

Not ready to log those miles, but still want to support the kids of Bike Works? You can donate directly to your favorite team, including our student riders, and help them reach their fundraising goals. When you donate to a team, please share with your social network. Word of mouth is one of Community Bike Works’ best marketing tools!

Donate to the challenge

Prize and raffle donations of all sizes are welcome. During our 15-day challenge, we always look for ways to keep our challengers motivated to log miles and raise funds. Gift cards, baskets, food, and beverages are great incentives for the event or our closing party. We will always make sure our participants know your business supports Community Bike Works! Email us to discuss ideas!

email us!

Understanding PledgeIt

Your fundraising page is where you’ll send family and friends to donate, and where you can track all your efforts.

If you haven’t started using it yet, here’s a quick guide.

Getting to your fundraising page:

You were sent a welcome email with a direct link to your page, but you can also get there from the campaign page HERE. Log in on the top right, then click the “My Page” tab.

Making sure you’re logged in:

To see all the tools at your disposal, be sure you’re logged in. On your fundraising page, if you see the profile avatar on the top right, you’re logged in. If you see “Sign In” instead, go ahead and do so.

Editing your page:

You can adjust your photos, story, contact info, goals, and more. On a computer, click the “Edit Page” button under the large cover photo. On a phone, click the settings icon at the top, then the black “Edit” button.

Sharing your page:

To share your fundraising page with friends and family, use the “Share” button (under your fundraising progress wheel). Choose a social network to share to, or choose “Copy page URL” to copy the direct link to your page.

The Community tab:

You’ll find this at the top of your page on your computer and the bottom on your phone. You can post questions, ideas, and inspiration to the rest of the campaign community and scroll through everyone else’s posts.

The Donors tab:

Go here to send pre-written email requests inviting people to donate to your page, track who has donated, and thank your donors. 'Thank you' verbiage is drafted above!

The Activity tab:

You may or may not see a tab for Activity. If you do, this is where you can record the activity you perform, and link a Strava account! You can add comments, photos, or other media, and choose whether to send your update to your donors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at jvarrone@communitybikeworks.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.

What is the mission of Community Bike Works?

The mission of Community Bike Works is to teach life lessons through bicycles to the young people of the Lehigh Valley who could benefit most.

When will the finale party be held?

The closing party of our Mileage Challenge will be on Monday, October 7th. Join us for fun, food, and drinks as we come together as a community to celebrate our accomplishments during the Mileage Challenge. Admission was included in registration costs for the Challenge, so come as you are! More details will be sent out soon. Hope to see you there!

Do I have to connect Strava?

No, you do not. Strava connection is a way to simplify your mileage tracking but you can manually enter your miles.

Can I ride any bike?

You can ride any pedal-assist bike, including certain e-bikes. An e-bike with a throttle control is NOT what we consider a pedal-assist bike, so we ask that you NOT use this type of vehicle as part of your challenge miles. Class-1 pedal-assist e-bikes only.

What's a Micro-donation?

A micro-donation allows your friends and family to contribute a low dollar amount per mile for every mile you ride. For example, if your friends pledge $0.25/mile and you ride 200 miles, you will raise $50 for Community Bike Works from your one supporter. If you have four supports who pledge $0.25/mile, you will raise $200 from your 50 mile effort.

Can supporters put a limit to their donation?

Yes. At the completion of the challenge, every supporter will receive an email confirming their total pledge amount. For example, if a supporter pledges $1.00 per mile, and you ride 400 miles, they will be asked if they want to confirm a $400 donation. If they decide they can only contribute $200, they can make this edit before confirming their pledge.

I run, walk, and cycle using Strava as my activity tracker. Is that ok?

Yes, that is ok with us. Just know that all your activities with mileage will be added to your total. We're all about active lifestyles, so if you want your activities to count towards your fundraising goal, you may leave these in your PledgeIt account. If you would like to only include one type of activity you will have to manually delete these activities from Pledgeit. This will not delete them from your Strava account.

Do I have to be on a team to participate?

No, you can participate as an individual to support the Mileage Challenge and the kids of Bike Works.

Is there a minimum fundraiser amount?

We ask all individuals to set a goal of $200. Teams are asked to raise $1200 which covers the cost of attending Earn a Bike for two students. We are using PledgeIt to make it more cost-effective for more supporters to help you reach your goal.

Community Bike Works 2024 Mileage Challenge

About the Challenge

$110,000 goal for the kids of Bike Works!

Sample Messages You Can Use

2024 Mileage Challenge Passport

Get Involved!

Everyone gets a FREE water bottle

More Ways to Support

Understanding PledgeIt

Mail in Donation Form

Sponsorship Form

Customized Sponsorships Available!

Frequently Asked Questions