Randolph Man
Hailed as Hero

I thought your readers might like to know "the rest of the story" that Sandy Vondrasek Cooch told on Aug. 30, when she described Gene Bianco of Chimney Savers collecting bikes for the developing world through a project called Pedals for Progress.

Last Saturday, Gene, with his Chimney Savers truck and trailer loaded to capacity with bikes, was greeted as a hero at the Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers bike collection at the Lake Champlain Chocolate Warehouse on Pine Street in Burlington.

Gene was delivering 73 bikes and $910 that were donated by generous residents of Randolph, Bethel, Braintree and Sharon. There were 284 bikes collected in total that day.

With the help of FedEx, these bikes have started on the first leg of their journey, to a port in New Jersey. From there, some of the bikes may head to Ghana in West Africa, others to Nicaragua, and some may be shipped to a new project in the Republic of Georgia, in the former Soviet Union.

Many of these bikes were outgrown, unused, and collecting dust. Once in their new location the bikes will be reconditioned—usually as part of a jobs skill program for unemployed youths. Then they will become affordable transportation, allowing struggling families to more easily access the education, employment and markets that will allow them to work their way out of poverty. You can learn more about the project at P4P.org.

Thanks to Gene Bianco of Chimney Savers, and all the kind people of Orange County who contributed bikes and money to this project. See you next year!

Joanne Heidkamp

Pedals for Progress

Burlington