This spring Westchester residents have another chance to get a new deal for their old wheels at a Pedals for Progress bicycle collection in Croton-on-Hudson. By donating outgrown, outmoded and unridden bicycles, owners may have a chance to improve and even save lives around the world, while earning a tax deduction and some space in their garages and basements. The bikes collected this spring will be  send to Nicaragua, Ghana, Moldova, Sierra Leone and Guatemala. There they will be used for transportation to get to jobs and school. 

"You can¹t feed the world. The way to eliminate poverty is by going to work. We need to find a way to employ the poor people of the world," said Dave Schweidenback, a New Jersey resident and the founder of Pedals for Progress. Schweidenback sees what Pedals for Progress does as transferring goods from people who don¹t need them to people who desperately need them.

He started the organization 18 years ago when he returned from his tour of Peace Corps duty in Ecuador. There he noticed how much of a difference a set of bicycle wheels could make in a person¹s ability to support himself. By coordinating drives in several states, his charity has collected more than 118,000 bikes and distributed them to people and organizations around the world.

In the countries the bikes are sent to, the bikes are reconditioned by partner agencies and distributed to volunteer organizations or sold at low cost to poor working adults. Recycling the bikes is environmentally sound, says Schweidenback, since these bikes don¹t use fossil fuel or wind up in landfills.

The organization collects only bicycles in repairable condition. A little rust on the bright medal is acceptable, but rust on the frame means the bike is probably not worth repairing. The organization does not accept bikes for parts or disassembled bikes. Children¹s bikes are accepted since people in many developing countries are shorter than Americans.

Since it costs an average $28 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle, a suggested donation of $10 toward shipping costs is requested. All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt for the value of the donated bike will be available at the collection site.

Pedals for Progress is a 501 (c) (3) corporation. Brochures explaining the program will be available at the collection site.