The Reston Bicycle Club (RBC), founded in 1982 to promote bicycling in Reston and surrounding communities, established a formal philanthropy plan this year to help address community needs.
“We’ve always donated to local bicycling-related causes. This year we formally opened our grant program to outside requests. We budgeted $10,000 to our philanthropy program,” said club president Phil “Chip” Magrogan. The philanthropy funds are provided through club member dues, as well as proceeds from the Club’s annual Century Ride. The 2018 Century will be Aug. 26 and registration will open on May 1.
So far this year, the club has donated $1,000 to the Be AMYazing! Reston Youth Triathlon to help pay for police officers who help keep the young racers safe. RBC also donated $1,000 to Fairfax Alliance For Better Bicycling (FABB) to assist in establishing a bicycle education program for Fairfax County. The club has also allocated a donation to Cycling Without Age – a Purcellville/Leesburg-based organization working to fund a pedicab so they can take area seniors out for social bike rides.
The Club has a history of philanthropy, in the past providing funds for Reston Association to purchase bicycle racks as well as purchasing a bicycle traffic counter for Fairfax County to use.
The Club recently expanded its rides to include more social rides such as a Wednesday midday Ramble and the monthly Last Sunday Brunch Adventure Ride. Club membership is open to all area cyclists, and is $25 annually. For more information on the Club or to request a grant application form, visit www.restonbikeclub.org or email rbcrestonbikeclub@gmail.com.