“Pay It Forward” is the message of ShareFest Texas Founder John Thielman. Through ShareFest, Thielman has found a creative and impactful way to bring organizations and people together to help those in need in greater Arlington. During this unprecedented time, Sharefest has launched a project to put bikes in the hands of people who need transportation to go to work. 

ShareFest-Texas (SFT) exists to creatively collaborate with young leaders, community service organizations and business partners to align our strengths and transform the Arlington community needs into meaningful, completed projects. SFT’s mission is to grow youth leaders who can lead in any situation – who have confidence, feel empowered, and have the raw skills to take an idea and transform it into a completed project. Youth leaders need more than classroom experience, they need actual projects to develop these skills.

One of the many projects ShareFest does is picking up donatable items and bringing them to Arlington Urban Ministries and Mission Arlington. One of the items that ShareFest continued receiving for donations was used bicycles. Trek Bicycles of Arlington had recently opened, and John asked to collaborate. ShareFest would collect the used bikes through donation, and Trek would refurbish them, making them almost like new. After being refurbished, ShareFest and Trek Bicycle donated the bikes to Arlington Urban Ministries and Mission Arlington that way people could have ways to go to work.

ShareFest and Trek Bicycles wanted to help meet the needs of those who may be struggling with needing transportation to and from work. Through donating bicycles to Arlington Urban Ministries and Mission Arlington, ShareFest and Trek have been able to help many individuals.  “My job is to improve the quality of life of people in my community. If that is doing something like donating bicycles to people in need so they can go to work, that’s great,” Thielman said of donating the bicycles.

Through paying it forward, ShareFest has been able to help the community in many ways. If you would like to get involved or have a bike to donate, please email johnthielman@aol.com.

If your organization is doing fantastic work in greater Arlington or you know of someone who is, please let us know! We want to celebrate corporate citizenship in our community. Email us at marketing@www.arlingtontx.com.