I heard about the Rotary Clubs since I was a kid. But I never had a chance to attend any of its events until recently. I always dreamed of becoming a member of the organizations like Rotary Club, Lions Club, YMCA and so on. But I never felt I am eligible enough to join such organizations. 

              Recently while I was passing by Broad Avenue in Leonia I found a crowd in a parking lot. I also saw a pile of bicycles there. Because of curiosity I went there and found it as an activity of the local Rotary Club. This club is named as the Rotary Club of the Palisades. And this is the club for the following three towns, Leonia, Edgewater and Palisades Park.

              I went to them, introduced myself and offered my help as a freelance journalist and photographer.  Then I went home and returned there with my camera. I took some pictures from the event and I am very happy to share some of those pictures with you. If you want to see all the photos I took on that day, you should visit my facebook page. Look for Jose Pinto Stephen in facebook.  Feel free to send me friendship invitations as well.

               I really got inspired by talking to the members of that club. I asked them questions about what they do and how do they find resources and so on. This bicycle project is a joint venture of the Rotary Club of the Palisades and the Pedals for Progress; an organization collects the used bicycles from the US and sends it to various African and South American countries in a regular basis.

               I met the Pedals for Progress staff at the event and had some chat with them.

They does this project in a continuous basis and if you want to be partners with this mission, please visit their website and invite them to your area. They will be happy to join you for this good cause.

               I was so impressed by their mode of operation. All of them were doing something irrespective of their positions in the organization.  Some of them were greeting the residents who were coming with their used bicycles, some were receiving the bicycles from them and some of them were involved in doing some minor repairs on the bicycles.  Later they all joined together and loaded all the bikes to a big truck.

                Those who donated their used bikes were supposed to give a donation to meet the shipping charge and normal suggested donation was $10.  When the bicycles reach the destination the local organizers does the final repairs there and make sure it is ready to hit the roads. The beneficiaries should have to buy the bicycles with a nominal price and thus by they give values to the Bikes and the services of the people who are involved in this mission. 

                 Finally they invited me to join that club and I said I can’t be a regular member due to the type and nature of my present career.  Then they said they would invite me as a guest in their future events. So I am looking forward to attend their event as a guest media person.

                To know more about the Rotary Club of the Palisades and the Pedals for Progress please visit the following links.

http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?accountid=5488

http://www.p4p.org/

 Please also watch the video I made from the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad1FXBMtY6c