Students Collecting Bikes For Orphans
Posted: 5:47 pm EDT March 20, 2009
Updated: 6:10 pm EDT March 20, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It takes a lot of time and hard work to plan a fundraiser to help children, especially when those children live overseas. Three local teens decided to come together and help children in Africa, many of whom are living with AIDS.

This all involves a simple means of transportation we may take for granted. Students at Charlotte Latin Academy are giving bicycles to sick children and adults in need.

The chain reaction began last summer when Becky Green's relatives, told her about problems in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. AIDS orphans need bikes to get to school, and to collect water. And adults, need a way to get to work.

"It would really help them out if they could ride a bike, instead of walking 20 miles to get to work or school," Green said. She called her friends Lucy Shearer and Erin Hogan, to gather a plan. "We each organized at our school to do bike collections," Shearer said. Once they got drives going, the teens started a website: bikesforafrica.org.

"Everybody was like really supportive, because it's a good cause, so people wanted to help out," Shearer said. Before they knew it, the wheels were in motion. People dropped off bikes left and right, some brand new, others need some work. "I think we're gonna go through, once we have all the bikes, pump up the tires, then do inspections to make sure they're ok to send over," Hogan said.

They have nearly 2-hundred bikes. The next hurdle is getting the bikes to Africa. They plan to ship them out in April.