Invites GVRCC Members to the 

 
--Pharmaceuticals
Business Expo

Friday November 21, 2008  11-2PM
Shire Pharmaceuticals
725 Chesterbrook Boulevard, Wayne

Space is Limited/ First Come-First Serve!
Cost for a Table is $350
$ 250.00 for Each Additional Table
Participating Members Must Provide a Raffle Prize

Pedals for Progress: 
Putting used bikes to good use
Sunday, November 9, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Students from Penn State Great Valley’s Master of Leadership Development program and the campus’s Office of Student Services are partnering with Vertex, Inc. in nearby Berwyn to participate in a community outreach event with a service organization, “Pedals for Progress,” which provides used bicycles to people in developing countries throughout the world (www.p4p.org).

Millions of people in developing countries have no means of transportation other than their feet. Pedals for Progress addresses this situation by gathering used bikes and shipping them worldwide for distribution to poor working adults. The bikes provide them with reliable transportation for commuting to work, transporting produce to market, or accessing health care or other services.  Steady employment for those adults is vital to the economic development and success of those economies.

On Sunday, November 9, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., used bikes in good condition may be dropped off in the parking lot behind the 1001 Vertex Building, 1041 Old Cassatt Road, Berwyn, PA. Volunteers from Penn State Great Valley and Vertex will disassemble the bikes so that they can be shipped overseas.

You can help in the following ways:  Clean out your garage and donate a used bike. Help the day of the event to “break-down” the bikes to make them compact for shipping (tools will be provided).  Stop by during the event to show your support!

Bikes should be in repairable condition. Disassembled bikes, bikes with excessive rust, and “bikes for parts” cannot be accepted. The cost to ship the bicycles overseas is $35 per bike, and P4P asks for a donation toward shipping costs of $10 per bike -- the remaining $25 is raised from donations to Pedals for Progress. Bike and cash donations are tax deductible, and IRS-approved tax deduction receipts will be issued at the collection site. P4P is a 501(c)(3) corporation and collects over 11,000 bikes annually, with more than 115,000 bikes shipped to developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands.

At Vertex, this project is being coordinated by Nancy Orlando, one of Penn State Great Valley’s Leadership Development students. Nancy reports that the idea for this event was sparked by an assignment she did for a graduate class this summer, Ethical Dimensions of Leadership. 

For more information, to volunteer to help break down the bikes on the day of the event, or to make arrangements for an earlier drop off of your bike, contact Nancy Orlando at Vertex at 484-595-5981 or via email at nvo101@psu.edu.