Donate, ride bikes for charity in McHenry County

Submitted by Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club

@Default:The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club will sponsor a bicycle collection for Working Bikes, www.workingbikes.org an organization that rescues discarded bicycles and gives them new life, and is co-sponsoring the sixth annual Pedal for PADS Bike-a-Thon to help raise money for homeless services through Pioneer Center’s McHenry County Public Action to Deliver Shelter. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22.

Community residents have two ways to participate. Donate your old or non-working bikes in any condition to the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Rotary Club. Working Bikes donates more than 6,000 each year to international and local partners. In a developing country, a bicycle can truly change the life of an individual, their family and their community. Bicycles are also used for towing cargo, and even as a source of electricity through the creation of pedal-powered machines.

In areas plagued by poverty, high levels of unemployment and lack of reliable, accessible transportation, a bicycle can help provide access to jobs, education, medical attention, and other resources. Working Bikes partners with homeless transition, refugee resettlement, and youth empowerment programs in Chicago to donate bicycles and put them to good use on our streets.

@No Spacing:A red tent will be at 1113 Pyott Road, Lake in the Hills in front of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Interfaith Food Pantry parking lot for drop off between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Rotarians and Jacobs High School Interact students will help take bikes from vehicles. Signs will be posted. If you can’t drop your bicycles off Sunday, call Virginia Freyre at (224) 223-7236 to arrange a pick up before Sunday.

@Default:If you don’t have a bicycle to donate, Pedal for PADS www.pedal4pads.orgevent organizer, Larry Ferrarini, is recruiting bicycle riders and walkers of all ages and abilities to help raise money for the homeless.

Participants will choose a distance from 1 to 35 miles of the McHenry County Prairie Trail to ride or walk. The cost is $10 per person, $30 per family, or $40 for a team of six riders or less. All participants are encouraged to collect additional pledges, and a grand prize will be awarded to the individual that raises the most money.

Ferrarini hopes to raise $25,000.

“Bring the whole family, it’s a great way to get kids involved in charitable causes and instill, at a young age, a love for serving and helping those in need,” he said.

Riders need to return by Noon to enjoy music by No Left Turn, lunch, participate in raffles and a children’s bike parade. Rider check-in is 8 to 9 a.m. For online registration, sponsorship and donations visit www.pedal4pads.organd click signup. Larsen Park is in Lake in the Hills and connected to the Prairie Bike Trail. Take Pyott Road to E. Oak Street to Creekview Lane to the parking lot. Signs will be posted to direct attendees to the park. The event will be held rain or shine.