Since 2008, it has been our goal to reward hardworking students.
About Us
How We Started
Pedal Power was founded in 2008 by Nicole and Bennett Basil, when Nicole outgrew her favorite bike. Pedal Power was then transferred to Owen and Cailyn Fitzgerald in 2019, who helped to grow the charity to have a larger impact. Charlie Jacobs joined in 2021, and ever since the charity has been helping as many children as possible.
When the Event Takes Place
Our donation event takes place annually in the fall. Several locations to drop off bikes throughout the Chicagoland area can be found on the locations page.
The Day of the Event
On the day of the event, families drop off bikes they want to donate, which are repaired at partnered bike shops. We then put the bikes in trucks and drive them to inner city schools in Chicago. There, the bikes are stored until they can be awarded to the children during honor roll assemblies.
Bike Recipients
On the big day of the award ceremony, children who made the honor roll pick out the bike of their choice from the collection of donated bikes. These gently used, outgrown bikes find a new home with a hard-working student.
Bike Totals
Over the past 17 years we have collected and distributed more than 4,800 donated bikes!
The Overall Effect
Not only are kids receiving bikes, but they are also learning important life lessons - working hard pays off. They are shown that determination and hard work pays off.