[*BCM*] Opinions on move by Mass Bike

[Anne Wolfe]

I was rebuffed.  I turned up, with plenty of experience and enthusiasm, and was first underutilized, and then just generally blown off.  Which seemed amazing really as no one seemed to be doing anything that much.   So I channelled my fundraising expertise, intellect and enthusiasm elsewhere, where I have to say they've been greatly appreciated in this era of budget cuts.  I've spent two years raising a lot more money than I've earned each year for charity, and that's not as a professional fundraiser either, that's just putting my butt on the line and saying "if you sponsor me, I'll go do this, and this, and this."  
 
What would I like to see?
 - something that just doesn't sponsor legislation, but gets legislation passed.
- if they get legislation passed, they make sure it is funded.
 - something that is appealing broadly, and very hard, outside the biking community to promote biking issues.  Selling bike issues to the biking community is about as hard as selling snow to the eskimos, or even the greater Boston area this week.  I want to see local vendors installing bike racks in places where they can be seen (so as to deter/reduce theft), so as to encourage people to bike to their stores.  I want to see bike racks at the T with the same kind of safegards (there are bike racks at some T stations, but not many racks and not many stations which considering the restrictions of taking your bike on the T they ought to at least be helping people to bike TO the T.).  Hell, let the private companies sponsor the bike racks.
 - I want to see harder promotion to the non-biking masses about the benefits of biking to work, the store, the wherever.  Encourage companies to provide incentives, whether financial, showers, discounts whatever to people who bike to work at least twice a week.
 - I want to see promotion through the schools about biking to school by children, so as to encourage them from an early age, and encouraging the parents to accompany them.
- I want an organization that isn't going to consider throwing three social events a year to raise money for themselves as part of their accomplishments for the biking community.
 
Of course, that's just a quick 10 minute brainstorm.
Anne

turtle <turtle at zworg.com> wrote:
goannego at yahoo.com wrote about joining MassBIke,

> I did, I tried, I was strongly rebuffed, I left

You were rebuffed? How? By the staff (Tim, Dorie, Me)? Or was it by
one of the many volunteers? Did someone honestly say, "We don't want
YOU in MassBike"? Or did they maybe just disagree with one of your
ideas?

Also, I'm curious as to what kind of organization you'd like to see, if
MassBike is so disappointing to you. (Beyond the idea of promoting
siedpaths, which as I mentioned in another message, MassBike does not
promote due to their proven dangers.)

-Turtle

--
"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we
seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must
pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." - Martin Luther King Jr.
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