Trips For Kids Marin

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The inspiration for Trips For Kids came in 1986, when founder and director Marilyn Price was pedaling up Mount Tamalpais, gazing at the view of San Francisco. She remembered the kids she used to see when she volunteered at St. Anthony's Dining Room in the heart of the inner city and thought how wonderful it would be if these kids, who she knew had never had the chance to do what she was doing, could join her. Many of those kids had never seen their city from that perspective. Most had never challenged themselves physically. And all spent their days surrounded by cement as well as constant exposure to drugs, violence and gang involvement. It was then that Marilyn's vision of Trips For Kids began to take shape.

After functioning as a pilot program for two years, Trips For Kids incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1988. Since then, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, many thousands of disadvantaged kids from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area have experienced the natural world from the seat of a mountain bike.

The program expanded dramatically in 1994 with the establishment of a bicycle thrift shop, Re-Cyclery, and an Earn-a-Bike program. The shop provides affordable transportation for Bay Area residents and funds 58% of the programs' costs. The shop also plays a major role in the recycling of bicycles and bicycle parts. Meanwhile, the Earn-a-Bike program teaches valuable life skills and providing a respite from the street. From our humble beginnings in Marilyn's garage, we now operate out of two locations, including a building that we own in downtown San Rafael.

Encouraged by our success locally and by others interested in starting similar programs, we initiated a national Trips For Kids program in 1999. At the time, national recognition of our accomplishments had already inspired others across the country to start similar programs. Now, we actively help facilitate the difficult leap from inspiration to an operating program.

To see us in action, check out one of our videos. You can watch:

• a five minute profile that you can watch on Cycling TV.
• a 30 second Public Service Announcement that features a voice over by Honorary Board Member Peter Coyote,
• a three and a half minute documentary prepared by students in the Communications Academy at the Sir Francis Drake High School,
• a six minute TV segment that appeared on KRON TV's Bay Area Backroads, and
• a five minute video produced by Channel G.

You can also read more about what people say about us.

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