Retailer Signature Cycles raised almost $80,000 for World Bicycle Relief last month with help from industry donors-and a huge assist from an individual benefactor.
Signature held twin silent auctions at its Manhattan and Greenwich locations-SRAM, Shimano, Parlee Cycles, Assos, Rapha, Enve, Fizik, Garmin, Osmo, Skratch Labs and others donated products-as well as prize raffles and an online fundraising drive, raising a total of almost $40,000 and far surpassing Signature owner Paul Levine's goal of $15,000. A few days after the fundraising drive, an individual donor approached by Levine agreed to match every dollar raised, for a total of nearly $80,000.
World Bicycle Relief provides high-quality bicycles to students, health care workers and entrepreneurs in need of transportation in developing countries. It was established in 2005 by SRAM co-founder F.K. Day and Leah Missbach Day in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
"We have been helping people buy bikes since 1999 and never sold a bike to anyone who needed one. People buy our bikes to make themselves feel good, not because they need them," Levine said. "WBR is about delivering bikes to people who need them to improve their lives through mobilization. It was time to give back to people who receive a different type of power through bicycles-the power of independence."
