Griffith Soroptimist club ships bikes to Samoa

With an original aim to source 100 donated bikes, the organisation ended up with 110 bikes, all of which have been expertly and generously restored by Brendan Zirilli.

The donation is in celebration of Soroptimist Internationals' centenary, with groups all around the world taking part in the '100 acts of kindness' challenge.

Originally the group was planning to ship the bikes over to Samoa by the end of November however international shipping prices have risen exponentially, a far cry from the initial shipping amount that the group originally budgeted for.

Griffith Soroptimist Libby Trembath says that the club was 'thrilled' to not only be able to finally ship the bikes, but to surpass their original donation goal by 10.

"We are just thrilled and so thankful to the community for donating so many bikes in good condition to us for this initiative," Mrs Trembath said.

"The working party on this project has been very proactive, and the teamwork and effort put into bringing this to fruition has just been incredible."

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The bikes are set to be shipped on the 18^th from the Port of Melbourne in a 40 foot long container where they will travel to New Zealand and then onwards to Samoa, which an expected arrival date of March 8^th.

"We are also excited to be sending 70 boxes and bags filled with toweling, linen, clothing, helmets, spare bike parts, schools supplies and more across the ocean with the bikes as they are all things that the Soroptimists in Samoa have identifying as items in need to us," Mrs Trembath said.

"Once the bikes are in Samoa, a number of large hotels will take on the responsibility of maintaining the bikes long term so the program can be sustainable well into the future".

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