If you prefer to read this online go to: http://www.lingoport.com/company/newsletter/1207/

For several years now, Lingoport has been creating and sending you original holiday artwork and making donations on behalf of Friends of Lingoport (which means you!). This year as in the past, we're spreading our donations globally and locally to Doctors Without Borders, Heifer International and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. These are wonderful organizations.

I’m excited about featuring a couple of local grass roots non-profits that are innovative and making very measurable differences in people’s lives. Both have a connection to bikes, which are near and dear to me. Bicycles are a simple and cost effective way to move people and goods about, and they are key commerce enablers for developing countries. Here in the States, we are sure to be a better country as more people use their bikes rather than cars about town. So here are a couple of grass roots stories of how good works get done:

Freiker is the brainchild of a good friend of mine, Rob Nagler. Rob took a look at our local elementary school, kids getting more sedentary and all the moms and dads making two car trips a day dropping off and picking up their kids - adding to traffic, pollution and giving up the opportunity for kids to get about on their own. Being the inventive engineer he is, Rob developed a solar powered, wireless device called a Friekometer that counts kids as they ride to school. Freiker then gives the kids prizes. Well, this program is a huge success, with riding waaay up, forcing participating schools to make large additions to their bike rack capacities. Even in bad weather, there is a steady swarm of kids riding to school every morning, often with parents joining them for the ride. You can see the Freikometer in action on the Freiker.org home page. Donations go toward building and maintaining the Freikometers and funding prizes.

Community Cycles performs grass roots efforts to get people on bikes and make it easier for them in so many ways. They host community bike swaps, teach bike mechanics and especially help kids earn new bikes through volunteer activities. Among their ongoing programs they run an innovative earn a bike program, and they’ve coordinated and hosted activities to gather and fix bikes and tools to send off to Ghana. They especially work at providing opportunities to earn bikes for at risk and low income kids. Additionally they provide community advocacy for improved bicycle infrastructure. Donations go toward supporting their shop space, paying for helmets, locks and lights, and more.

I invite you to join me in giving donations to your favorite worldwide and local charities and non-profits. It’s awesome for everyone.

And as in past years, we have original artwork from Nina Asnes above (yes she's married to me, and also manages our operations). Print it. Put it on your refrigerator! Enjoy! If enough people request it, we’ll make it into a magnetic bumper sticker. Let me know.

Best wishes to you, your family and friends,

Adam Asnes and the Lingoport Team

P.S. To see the above holiday artwork at its full size, please click here.