Adopt a blind cyclist

Adopt a Blind Cyclist - a programme to improve the quality of life for a disabled Australian associated with your company:

Invitation for your employees to donate part of the cost of a tandem bicycle for a vision impaired or disabled -

There are over 30,000 vision impaired people in NSW, with may others suffering disabilities which materially diminish their recreational opportunities. Almost all of the 0.80% of the Australian population who are vision impaired require a "white cane" or a Guide Dog in order to get around. Others have spinal disabilities which similarly hamper their recreational opportunities. Thus confined, it is more difficult to maintain muscle density. Not surprisingly, there are very few recreational sports that such Australians can participate in the manner that most of us take for granted, which also provide social interaction and bonhomie.

Recreational road cycling on a tandem bicycle is uniquely suited to impaired people participating in cardio-vascular exercise with able bodied people. Some Australians with spinal injuries are able to ride a tandem, but not a single bicycle. The blind or disabled person sits on the back and performs the Stoker role. The Pilot on the front steers the tandem, changes gears and applies the brakes.

There are over 100 recreational bicycle groups across Australia which attract a dozen or more cyclists most Sundays who cycle in excess of 50km. Blind cyclists in the Adopt a Blind Cyclist programme have cycled over 100km rides in regular weekend ride groups.

Its goal is to improve the quality of life for such impaired people, commencing in NSW, by assisting those interested in owning and riding a tandem bicycle to -

(ii) source a local recreational bicycle group to provide a few cyclists to share the Pilot role, and assist with transport to/from the bicycle ride (if required).

Each blind person who has participated in the Adopt a Blind Cyclist programme, and cycled distances well in excess of their initial expectations, believes that his/her quality of life has been substantially enhanced. Not merely due to the improved physical wellbeing from strenuous cardio-vascular activity amongst a group of like-minded adults, but also due to the social interaction and fellowship from meeting up with a ride group on a regular basis and developing friendships. No other sporting activity provides these opportunities, because the blind cyclist is able to rely on the eyes of his/her Pilot.

We invite you to enquire of your employees and clients to determine if a vision impaired person or an employees with another identified disability, would like to own and ride a tandem bicycle.

I welcome you contacting me if you would like to assist an impaired person from the three categories in the above heading of this letter. Should you choose to encourage your employees to donate towards the cost of a tandem bicycle -

(a) your own delegates would supervise the collection of donations with every cent that your employees donate going towards the cost of the tandem bicycle for the impaired person that your company nominates;

Footnote: Your company no doubts receives a lot of requests to contribute to people less fortunate. The structure of this invitation guarantees that every cent donated by your employees goes towards the cost of a tandem bicycle for the disabled person you nominate. I doubt that any invitation more efficiently assists disabled people materially enhance their quality of life. We invite you to source a disabled person who wants to try tandem cycling, and we will enable your employees to adopt that disabled person, where they can monitor the disabled person's cycling progress on the internet.

I. each interested company is invited to source a blind person from within its own employees, their families or its clients;

II. employees can meet and follow the progress (via URL's to internet pages) of the particular blind person they agree to adopt;

III. employees can donate between 50% and 80% of the cost of the tandem directly into the charity's nominated bank account, with the blind person contributing the remaining cost of their tandem; and

Once the full cost of each tandem is deposited in the registered charity's bank account, that charity will -

(i) place an order for each tandem with either an Australian distributor or directly with at large USA tandem supplier;

(ii) pay the full cost of each tandem to the supplier;

(iii) issue a tax deductible receipt to each 3rd party donor for their donation; and

(iv) confirm that the blind person took receipt of their new tandem.

The writer undertakes to assist any registered charity (associated with the blind) with Adopt a Blind Cyclist by -

(A) providing a draft letter to be sent to very large Australian companies inviting the CEO to promote Adopt a Blind Cyclist within his/her company;

(i) representatives of each company (in Sydney) which responds in the affirmative [to (A) above]; and

(iii) launch the collection for between 50% and 80% of the cost of the tandem (between $2,100 and $3,000).