Our motto is "the right to wind in your hair", and our principles are Storytelling, Generosity, Slowness, Without Age and Relationships. We have now all experienced the effects of isolation and we want to seize this opportunity to create communities that are welcoming to people of all ages and abilities - encouraging and prioritizing the forming of new relationships. The good news is we can do this without compromising the health of volunteers and beneficiaries. We believe in the right to wind in our hair, the right to experience the city and nature close up from the trishaw and the opportunity to tell our stories in the environment where we live our lives. That way we build bridges between generations and we reinforce trust, respect and the social glue in our society. Unlike many other recreationally-focused activities found for older adults, taking off on an adventurous ride together offers a real life experience and reinvigorates our appetite for life and new experiences. It works, it’s fun and there’s a demand, how else would 33,000 volunteers in 50 countries do rides in their communities every day?
Our motto is "the right to wind in your hair", and our principles are Storytelling, Generosity, Slowness, Without Age and Relationships. We have now all experienced the effects of isolation and we want to seize this opportunity to create communities that are welcoming to people of all ages and abilities - encouraging and prioritizing the forming of new relationships. The good news is we can do this without compromising the health of volunteers and beneficiaries. We believe in the right to wind in our hair, the right to experience the city and nature close up from the trishaw and the opportunity to tell our stories in the environment where we live our lives. That way we build bridges between generations and we reinforce trust, respect and the social glue in our society. Unlike many other recreationally-focused activities found for older adults, taking off on an adventurous ride together offers a real life experience and reinvigorates our appetite for life and new experiences. It works, it’s fun and there’s a demand, how else would 33,000 volunteers in 50 countries do rides in their communities every day?
Leadership: We have built a leadership team with three individuals who are very involved in the local community - Laura Kajfez who works for the City of Tempe and Susan Conklu who is a local bicycle advocate and artist and metal worker for bike racks.
Fundraising: We launched a local campaign with 36 donors raising $1,600 with a matching donor for $3,200 total. We also raised $5,000 from the Arizona lottery! This means we raised $8,200 total combined with the ChangeX and Microsoft funds to buy a Cycling Without Age Trishaw and insurance.
Local art: The transportation manager for the City of Tempe created a piece of original art to celebrate Cycling Without Age that we'll auction off as part of our fundraising.
Partnerships: We have set up a partnership with a local nursing home called Apache Trails that is for deaf elderly individuals.
Volunteers: We have planned our first volunteer meet and greet event and will order our trishaw in May as soon as we receive the funds from the AZ Lottery (which they confirmed will arrive by May 30th).
Bike Rides: Rides will begin as soon as we get our bike!
I have the support of my team at Culdesac - the group building the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. I'll be reaching out to local community groups that can support our efforts: Tempe Community Action Agency (Senior Independence Programs); Escalante Senior Center; Ability 360; AARP Arizona
I'll also reach out to bike groups as potential collaborators:Tempe Bike Action Group; Tempe Inclusive Pedaling (TIP)
Once I speak with these community groups, I'll create a fundraising plan based on the senior center partner and then we'll order our bike!