Donate A Bike Project pedals on through founder Gretchen Ho, MVP
"You know, our family had no means when I was young so I never had a bike. When I came back from Hong Kong after several years, one of the things I missed was learning how to bike, so I called up a colleague and asked, “Where can we buy a bike?”. Paul, my officemate, and I, went to Cartimar, and he said, maybe we should get you one with training wheels. One Sunday morning I went on the bike with training wheels.. Guess what? After a while, the training wheels broke. That was the end of my biking career."
As he tells this story, Manny Pangilinan laughs. He’s had a rather bumpy relationship with bicycles. This time, however, he has decided to take the handlebars, not to get on the saddle, but to give them to someone else — those who have been affected by the COVID19 pandemic.
Through Donate A Bike, Save A Job — founded by television presenter and volleyball player Gretchen Ho — MVP has donated over 500 bicycles to beneficiaries nationwide through the PLDT-Smart Foundation, One Meralco Foundation, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation and First Pacific Company Limited. They have named the initiative the “Bike for Livelihood” project. The launch is in time for World Bicycle Day on June 3, as well as MVP’s upcoming 75th birthday this July 14.
“I could see that the biking project was something that could help the livelihood of our people,” says Pangilinan. “At the end of the day, the best solution to poverty is livelihood. If you could provide them with a means of making themselves a livelihood, whether by delivering food, medicine or water, I think that’s something we should support.”
“I was really surprised when Sir Manny messaged me on Facebook wanting to donate, after watching my story on the rollerblader that we gave a bike to. I was just finishing off donations from last year but welcome to Donate A Bike, Save A Job Season 2.”, says Gretchen Ho.
In 2020, Gretchen Ho’s Donate A Bike, Save A Job project was able to bring more than 1000 bicycles to those affected by the COVID19 pandemic in 10 cities all over Metro Manila, as well as flood victims in Naga and Cagayan.
First Pacific Company Limited, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, has been supporting frontliners and communities affected by the pandemic by giving out food packs, care packs and hot meals. To expand livelihood opportunities for Filipinos, the company will also be donating 100 Smart phone retailer kits. 100 pocket wifis will also be given by Smart. Maynilad has also pledged support for the project through the installation of drinking fountains in different destination cities.
“The hope is to provide people with the tools, not just to survive the pandemic, but to be able to thrive in the new normal. I think it’s a great initiative where bicycles have given them the means to go to work instead of walking for hours. At the same time it’s health and wellness. It’s very much in line with what we stand for and we’ve really embraced the meaningful project,” said Smart President and CEO Al Panlilio.
Apart from the donations, the MVP Group of Companies has also pledged to support bike-friendly initiatives such as bike parking, among others, to encourage their own employees to bike to work. Cignal TV will be receiving 50 bikes, and has committed to creating content around biking culture.
“Bike for Livelihood” will be working with different LGUs to identify recipients, starting with Pasig City, and eventually reaching recipients in Manila, Quezon City, Malabon, Caloocan and Batangas.
"Napakaganda ng programa na ito. We are really pushing to be more bicycle friendly. Habang gumagawa kami ng mga bike lanes at bike parking, nakakatuwa na may nagdodonate ng bisikleta kagaya nito. Yung bike lanes normal naman na may tutol talaga sa simula. Pero kailangan maintindihan na hindi naman siya cause ng karagdagang traffic. If anything, kapag marami yung bilang ng dumadaan sa bicycle lanes natin, mababawasan yung trapik sa ating lungsod. Hindi yung kotse ang gusto natin tulungan kundi yung tao." Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto adds.
For its kick-off launch, 70 bikes were given to Pasig City 4Ps recipients and bike lane enforcers, while 50 bikes were given to the DILG-PNP Contact Tracers last Sunday in Meralco.
“What better way to start that in your own backyard. With the MVP Group, I really believe there’s tremendous potential for impact, not just with the people we’re going to give the bikes to, but for the whole cycling community. As we move together toward building businesses that are bike-friendly, we enable a culture that supports biking. Hopefully, we will have more equal share of road space on our streets, more respect and education for bikers and motorists, and hopefully cities that promote active, sustainable transport. There’s no other time for change but now,” says project lead Ho.
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