We received the following email from Quality Bicycle Products, a company that distributes bicycles and parts to bike shops. While portions of the email are aimed at QBP’s bike-shop customers, much of the message is applicable to the general cycling public, and is worth sharing:

5,000 Ways to Make a Difference
In Zambia, a nation where a raging HIV/AIDS crisis is exacerbated by crumbling roads and infrastructure, bicycles are an increasingly critical mode of transportation. That’s why QBP is working with vendors, dealers, employees, families and friends to provide 5,000 bikes to World Bicycle Relief’s Project Zambia.

When you donate $109, QBP will purchase a bicycle that enables caregivers to travel much farther than on foot, visit more patients and carry a lot more material. And because these super-sturdy bikes will be assembled on-site in Zambia, they also provide an opportunity for more than 400 local mechanics to learn maintenance and repair skills and improve their livelihoods. The cost includes spare parts and distribution, and training for the mechanics.

Tax-deductible donations to the 5000Bikes campaign can be made at www.5000bikes.com. Or you can make donations in $1.00 increments simply by adding the WBR part-number to any parts order you place with QBP. Our goal is to raise $545,000 by February 17th, 2008.

With Thanks
We are grateful for each and every contribution our friends can give, and we thank you for helping us. As an added challenge, we’d like to invite you to give at World Bicycle Relief’s premium level. If you donate $545.00—enough to purchase five bikes—by the end of our campaign this February you’ll receive one of five limited-edition photographs. These beautifully framed images vividly illustrate the impact bicycles are having in Zambia. Display yours proudly, knowing that your generosity is helping to keep dreams and hope for a better tomorrow alive in Zambia.

A Little Help from Your Friends
Of course, you don’t have to foot the bill for an entire bike. Contribute $5, $10 or $15—whatever amount works for you. Take up a collection around the shop. Every donation counts!

Spread the Word
You can make a difference just by spreading the word. Pass this information on to your friends and relatives. Reach out to those who can help. Our campaign is just getting under way and already people are stepping forward from unexpected places. In Seaford, Delaware, five middle school social studies classes are raising money for bikes as part of their African studies curriculum. So send this message on. You never know who it might touch and inspire.

World Bicycle Relief – Project Zambia
Thanks to the efforts of World Bicycle Relief, a non-profit organization that provides bikes to aid workers in communities stricken by disaster or poverty, thousands of caregivers are able to provide life-saving care to more people than ever before. With Project Zambia, World Bicycle Relief focused its efforts on the hard-hit African nation, committing to provide 23,000 bicycles to volunteer caregivers, disease prevention educators and vulnerable households throughout the country.

For more information about Project Zambia, visit www.worldbicyclerelief.org.