Making a Difference – Two Wheels at a Time

Bicycles for Humanity began in September 2005 with the simple aim of enabling people to raise funds and collect unwanted bicycles to send to reliable partners in developing countries. B4H operates under the belief that a bicycle can change a life in a poor country. Its mission is to empower people to improve their quality of life by transferring mobility through the use of bicycles.

Represented by 22 local chapters on three continents, their shared purpose is to raise funds and collect unwanted bicycles locally to send to impoverished communities in developing African countries.  The B4H Montana chapter was founded in 2010 by Dan Austin of Austin Lehman Adventures.

Dan Austin is the co-founder of the award-winning active travel company Austin-Lehman Adventures – ALA.  ALA helped establish the local Billings chapter of B4H with the donation of 120 Trek bicycles from the company’s fleet of tour bikes.  Personally an avid cyclist and daily bike commuter, Austin is actively involved in improving the Billings, MT Bike Trail System, chairing a committee to improve connectivity of existing trails and developing new paths.

Austin was impressed by the fact that 100% of all donations, cash, equipment and materials go directly to the recipient communities in Africa. So he decided to volunteer his time as well and agreed to establish Montana’s first grassroots chapter of B4H in Billings.

Immediately, he found that local support was strong.  Montana Cycling, a new bike shop, joined in the efforts to help cover some hard costs and to work to collect bikes from the community.  Participation in B4H Montana allowed them to extend their love of biking and helping the Billings community to include helping the global community as well.

The goal is to expand the work of its chapter members, build more sustainable initiatives and programs and to mobilize and empower more of the world’s poorest people. “We have one focus, mobility through the use of a bike. We have one objective, to help the people of Africa help themselves. We believe that all of us working together can make a difference.”

The first shipment of bikes will be going to Namibia in the Spring of 2010, accompanied by Dan Austin and his son Andy.  Learn more about our village Ngoma!

Our mission is simple: making a difference two wheels at a time.