Trek Bicycle Portland gives $10,000 to three local nonprofits

Trek Bicycle Corp has been a very welcome newcomer to Portland for three local nonprofit organizations. The bike industry behemoth purchased six Portland-area Bike Gallery stores back in January and re-opened them as Trek Bicycle Portland stores in mid-March.

To help support the local scene — and perhaps grease the skids of acceptance in a city often skeptical of national brands (especially one that faced public pressure last summer to cancel police bike contracts), Trek launched a “Change for Change” donation contest as soon as they opened.

Between March 13th and April 4th, customers who showed up to stores were asked to donate to one of three cycling nonprofits: Northwest Trail Alliance (NWTA), The Street Trust, or Community Cycling Center (CCC). The one with the most donations would win $5,000 and the second and third-place winners would get $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

The winner was NW Trail Alliance with $391 donated for a total haul of $5,391. The CCC was next with $294 and a $3,294 award. The Street Trust had $214 for a total donation of $2,214.

In a statement released by Trek today, NWTA Executive Director Bob Lessard said, “The $5,000 award will go a long way to support our programming to reach underserved communities in the Portland area. We thank Trek Bicycle and the community for supporting us to create recreation opportunities for mountain biking.”

CCC Communications Coordinator Cole Lalomia said, “Securing this additional funding means we can focus more on the work. Food deliveries for families facing food insecurity, no-cost repairs for low- or no-income folks who rely on their bikes for transportation, recycling tons and tons of metal, bike camps for at-risk youth, and getting more people on bikes!”

And Executive Director of The Street Trust Sarah Iannarone said, “We are excited to welcome Trek to Portland and happy that they’re going to be a partner with us in advocating for multimodal transportation options that prioritize safety, accessibility, equity, and climate justice in our region.”

Learn more about Trek’s new Portland stores on their website.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
— Get our headlines delivered to your inbox.
— Support this independent community media outlet with a one-time contribution or monthly subscription.