bicycles and accessories for latino workers

Hi, my name is Elysia and i’m fundraising on behalf of the Latino Workers Support Society. We have over 300 migrant and seasonal workers in our small town of Ladner, BC who have become part of our social and community fabric. Agricultural towns across the province welcome these workers who live together on farms for a predetermined amount of time. They are far away from their families and work long hours to support their loved ones back home. I grew up seeing many of them biking around the village buying small items and doing their grocery shopping. The Latino Workers Support Society even hosts weekly summer soccer games in the summer and you know it’s happening when you see over a hundred bikes at the local field!

On Sunday April 16th a group of about 20 of these men were at a church service and had their bikes stolen. These bicycles are their primary mode of transportation while they are working at local farms (green houses and hot houses). It was brought to the attention of Jon and Kim Pelen, the organizers of the Support Society. However, they were leaving early the next day for a family trip to Guatemala. I knew I needed to do something to help these incredibly hard working individuals, so I decided to go about replacing all 16 bikes and their helmets and accessories.

My incredible family has been working on tuning them up and delivering them to three local farms. It turned out that more workers needed bikes so we made our goal to donate 20 bikes! The incredible South Delta community showed up and I have so far collected 15 bikes all together. A couple need repairs and we are very short on helmets, kick stands, back racks, reflectors, and other accessories. Every little bit helps these amazing men get back to their regular routine. I hope to see them biking around our village again soon!