Scholarships, Funding, and the End—What does this mean for Bikes4All?

It has been a long time since our last update—7 months phew!! I think that calls for a new-er update and some teasers on our next steps.

First, a reflection:

In the last 7 months, we have donated over 50 Bikes with the help of the Santa Cruz community, the Capitola City Police Department, and our wonderful volunteers. On Christmas Day, we managed to surprise donate 3 bikes, which was amazing.

High School Sophmore, Nathan, received his new bike on Christmas Day after his last two bikes were stolen.

Next, a personal reflection:

If you haven't heard already, I was fortunate to have won the Rise Global Scholarship. This scholarship reflects the impact we have had on the Santa Cruz Community and is a call to the great things to come! I like to think of this award as a collective effort that would not have been won if not for the amazing people here in Santa Cruz. For that, I say thank you.

Finally, the next steps:

Since the news of my award hit the internet, Bikes4All has received an immense amount of support, from applicants, and donors. We are looking to receive funding that will help us serve even more people in half the time. Options to donate will appear in the coming months. So Wooo!

Time to think about the future?

I didn't want to talk about this because it meant that I would be leaving Bikes4All but it is inevitable and it is time! As a high school Senior, I will be leaving the Santa Cruz Community for college in the Fall of 2024. That means that there will need to be someone else to run Bikes4All and to continue growing it.

As the President and Executive Director for Bikes4All, I have pondered over this idea for quite a bit. Why? Because running this organization means that you need to be passionate about helping others and passionate about all things cycling—That is a very niche group of people haha.

So, for the time being, we will start making plans about transferring Bikes4All to a larger nonprofit organization. HOWEVER, if you feel like you fit the aforementioned qualities, then PLEASE reach out to us and we will be more than happy to work you into our team.

Thanks for reading the blog. This is something that I will continue so make sure to stop by every couple of weeks to see if there are any new updates.

Ride on,

Iman