Help us raise $100,000 - Register now to start your fundraising! Mileage tracking will start October 1st!
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Our Cycle Challenge, which is Community Bike Works' biggest annual fundraising event, is from October 1st to 15th, with our finale party on Monday, October 16th at our Keck Park bike hub!
We're excited to announce that for our 2023 event, we'll be using the micro-donation platform PledgeIt that lets you contribute 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 Cycle 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!
Feel free to use the drafted messages below as you reach out to friends and family for support!
Dear FRIEND,
I am riding in the 2023 Community Bike Works Cycle Challenge to the support the kids of Community Bike Works as they learn life lessons through bicycles. From October 1st to the 15th, my goal is to ride YOUR MILES GOAL miles in support of youth bike mentoring!
This ride means a lot to me. The funds we raise will support kids 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 a bike and 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/cycle-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!
“Riding my bike makes me feel calm. It’s mindfulness. And you can get exercise, so you get strong,” Ikhlas, 8, said after earning her bike. Thanks for helping me get active in support of Ikhlas and kids all across the Lehigh Valley!
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Hey FRIEND,
I am riding in the 2023 Community Bike Works Cycle Challenge!
Can I count on your support? Please make a donation to my ride 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 like lessons through bikes. You can learn more at www.CommunityBikeWorks.org/cycle-challenge
Thanks so much for your support!
FRIEND’S NAME—
Hi! I hope you are doing well.
I know that you ride your bike a lot these days, and so I wanted to ask: Would you be up for joining my Community Bike Works Cycle 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 our Earn a Bike and other bike mentoring programs. The Challenge runs from Sunday, October 1st, through Sunday, October 15. 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 days of the 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 Cycle Challenge site: https://charity.pledgeit.org/communitybikeworks and picking my team: XXXXXXXXX. FAQs are at: https://communitybikeworks.org/cycle-challenge and I’d be happy to answer questions.
It would be great to “ride” with you in this way. Thanks for considering!
Dear DONOR,
Thank you so much for your donation to my Community Bike Works Cycle 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.
Through it all, youth are learning skills that will help them succeed, especially that they can learn to do things that they didn’t think they could do before. Ralph, 15, is a student at Easton Area High School who recently completed Earn a Bike. Since then, Ralph has stayed involved in Bike Works' other enrichment programs, including Drop-in and cycling, and has received one-on-one mentoring. In his words:
“I like coming here after school, being here with everyone, doing all the fun stuff we do. I like spending time with the wonderful people here. I learned how to work on bikes. I learned all the tool names. I got to use the screwdrivers. I really like riding bikes, working on bikes, playing games...just being here with nice and great people. I'm a positive influence on younger kids. I feel happiness when I talk about Bike Works.”
Your donation will directly support Community Bike Works' youth mentoring programs. Thank you so much for making a difference in a child's life!
Sign up as an individual and raise funds to support the kids of Bike Works! Your friends, family, or workplace can support every mile ridden with just a few cents per mile. Prizes are awarded to the top riders and fundraisers. Ride, run, spin, or walk as many miles as possible between October 1 and 15 to see if you can be this year's top fundraiser!
Forming a team is a great team-building exercise and a fun way to connect with friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues! Create a group of up to 8 riders 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 ridden and largest fundraiser. Of course, the real winners are the kids of Bike Works!
Not ready to hit the road, 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!
Prize and raffle donations of all sizes are welcome. During our 15-day challenge, we always look for ways to keep our riders 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 riders know your business supports Community Bike Works! Email us to discuss ideas!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Is your business looking to connect with locally engaged, community-minded customers? Our Cycle Challenge teams comprise some of the largest Lehigh Valley-based companies. Our 15-day event allows us to engage with our sponsors and riders creatively. Social media challenges and our sponsor passport will ensure our riders know what businesses support high-quality bike mentoring programs for the young people of our community!
Please reach us at jvarrone@communitybikeworks.org if you cannot find an answer to your question.
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.
The closing party of our Cycle Challenge will be on Monday, October 16th at our Keck Park bike hub - 614 S. Carlisle St. Allentown, PA. More details will be sent out soon. Hope to see you there!
No, you do not. Strava connection is a way to simplify your mileage tracking but you can manually enter your miles.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No, you can participate as an individual to support the Cycle Challenge fundraiser.
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
235 N Madison St Allentown, PA 18102 US
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