Cyclists roll out for charity
A charitable effort started by local teens has quickly gathered downhill speed and is giving orphans around the world greater access to brighter futures.
About 150 bicyclists and hikers gathered at the Glendale Sports Complex Saturday morning as part of the second annual Bikes 4 Orphans Bike-A-Thon/Hike-A-Thon. They took to the San Rafael Hills to get in a morning workout and raise funds for Bikes 4 Orphans, an organization that aims to donate bicycles to orphans in hopes that better transportation will ease their access to education and other necessities.
The organization was started in 2012, after brothers Sebouh and Shawnt Bazikian learned of the difficult travels some orphans in Kenya had to endure through Dr. Carolyn Rowley, director of the Machao Orphanage in Makueni County and a friend of their mother’s.
Sebouh Bazikian, then a junior at St. Francis High, started a blog and reached out to family and friends to raise $5,000 to purchase bicycles through World Bicycle Relief, an international nonprofit. As a senior, Sebouh Bazikian was then able to travel to Kenya to help deliver the bicycles.
“One of the children mentioned he had relatives, but they lived so far away, walking would be pointless. But with a bike, he could shorten the distance,” Sebouh Bazikian said. “It opens up so many opportunities and doorways.”
Since then, Shawnt Bazikian, currently a junior at St. Francis, has taken control of the endeavor, starting the Bikes 4 Orphans club on campus this year. He also reached out to friends at other high schools who have started clubs of their own.
Together, they brought together cycling teams from St. Francis, Crescenta Valley and Clark Magnet High schools, who showed up in force Saturday.
“At this age, to be so giving and to think so broadly is really commendable,” said Glendale Mayor Zareh Sinanyan to the crowd at the event.
In all, the bike-a-thon/walk-a-thon raised $5,500, including $1,000 donations each from the Glendale Noon and Altadena Rotary clubs. Combined with $4,850 they had raised prior to the event, Bikes 4 Orphans members exceeded the goal they set at the beginning of the year to raise $10,000 by July.
The money will go toward the organization’s next delivery of 10 bicycles to South Africa. Shawnt Bazikian and his friends are currently researching which orphanages to help with the remaining funds.
Since the organization began, its members have arranged for the delivery of 174 bicycles to orphans in Kenya, South Africa, Armenia and Ethiopia.
