Prize Donations Needed for Brooklyn Bike Charity Event by Nov 14
Can You Donate Prizes to My Charity Event?
The main purpose of today’s newsletter is to promote an annual charity event that I organize called [url=https://substack.com/redirect/edf52059-5d8f-4b36-a80c-3ed63f67050b]Brooklyn Cranksgiving[/url], which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
It’s essentially a super fun scavenger hunt bike ride where people race around central Brooklyn, answering trivia questions, performing goofy stunts, finding and taking pictures of BK- and bike-specific items, all while raising money for food access.
If you live in NYC, I’d love if you join the ride. Otherwise, check the [url=https://substack.com/redirect/04286d17-1bed-424e-a728-5a18168bfc7b]Cranksgiving website[/url] to see if there is a ride near you (there are about across the country!)
Before I transitioned to full-time writing, I worked in community development and food justice, focusing on improving access to healthy food in underserved communities. I also taught plant-based nutrition at several elementary schools in Harlem and the Bronx, and conducted food and fitness classes at senior centers in Brooklyn.
Cranksgiving started as a race to buy Thanksgiving-themed canned/boxed food to donate to pantries, and that’s how most cities still run the ride. When I founded the Brooklyn ride 10 years ago, I shifted the structure to focus on fresh foods and then to donating money instead of food. While many of us grow up learning that you battle hunger by donating to food drives, this is an extremely inefficient use of funds, and it’s a band-aid solution for a massive systemic injustice problem.
Working to improve food justice and overall access is a more long-term approach, so that’s why we raise money for organizations doing that work instead of collecting food to donate to pantries. This gives them greater purchasing power and allows them to buy exactly what they need, versus whatever someone feels like donating. A local TV news station did a [url=https://substack.com/redirect/e9b6cd7f-a31d-4ad0-9dac-d69bebc7f08f]short video segment[/url] about the ride last year if you want to watch.
Anyway….this is the 10th anniversary of the ride (check out [url=https://substack.com/redirect/edf52059-5d8f-4b36-a80c-3ed63f67050b]the Eventbrite link here[/url] or see our [url=https://substack.com/redirect/488d151e-7a78-485f-ac22-dfbcd9ffc558]Instagram account[/url] for more pics and info) and I’m shamelessly seeking donations. Not only do donations get people excited about the ride, but when we get a lot of donations, we auction them off to raise more money for our food justice partners. Last year, the auction brought in an extra $500.
As a bike-themed ride, of course we are interested in receiving bike helmets, locks, jerseys, and all things bike, but we are also happy to receive pretty much anything that riders could get excited about. In the past, we’ve received bottles of whiskey, backpacks, and clothing. Some of my subscribers here even sent random items like water filters (thanks, Brita, they were actually really popular!)
The ride is on Sunday, November 16th, so I’d need to receive donations by November 14th. If you want to donate to the ride, please respond with “BROOKLYN CRANKSGIVING” in the subject, along with the name of the product/service you’d like to donate.