Couldn't make it to the International Women's Month Ride with Airbnb on Monday, March 1st? Don't worry, we've got the recap from the organiser herself, Ashleigh Gallagher, an avid BECYCLEr and the Community Organising Lead at Airbnb. Read her first hand account here:

I work at Airbnb and alongside my main role also am responsible for organising social impact opportunities for our whole office. With colleagues, we were planning out multiple activities in honour of International Women’s Day and decided to celebrate for the whole month of March, with everything from workshops and diversity discussions, to art classes and volunteering opportunities, and supporting women’s organisations. This is when we came across Bikeygees.

#BIKEYGEES e.V. offers bike training for (refugee) women and girls. These include practical cycling lessons, but also theoretical classes about German traffic rules and basic bike repair workshops.

The initiative started in September 2015 as a grassroots project in order to empower female refugees. Since then, it has grown into an official NGO fostering the education and integration of women, most importantly allowing these women to enjoy more independence!

As a BECYCLE fanatic, I realised that an effective and fun way to fundraise for Bikeygees would be to host a sponsored ride, and immediately got in touch! BECYCLE was very accommodating, and Joey signed up to lead our class. We invited many staff members and other BECYCLErs to join for a €10 suggested donation and Airbnb would match this total sum.

We kicked off International Women’s Month with this sponsored ride on the morning of March 1st. Joey began the class by dedicating it to all the strong women is his and our lives, and reminded us of why we were there. He's such a great motivator! The best part was the girl-power inspired playlist and the amazing energy levels in the room!

Here's what some of my colleagues had to say:

“A highlight was when Joey started the ride with, 'To all amazing women out there, I wouldn’t be the same without them.' Then there was the woman-power music, an awesome vibe and sweating like crazy. Pretty much the best way to kick off International Women’s Month!”
--Laura, Airbnb employee

"What a great way to start your day and International Women's Month! I absolutely loved the energy in the room, and knowing that all the fun supported a good cause made it even more enjoyable!"
--Nina, Airbnb employee

In total, we raised €263 which will be doubled and donated! Airbnb employees are also tracking the kilometres they cycle to work this month too, a small extra donation will be given for each kilometre tracked. This money will go towards cycling equipment and workshops for Bikeygees, who recently also won the Deutscher Fahrradpreis. This is an amazing cause, which improves lives daily. It was a true pleasure to ride for them and to have so much fun doing so! Thanks so much to BECYCLE for hosting us, Joey for leading such an inspiring ride and all those who took part!

And as Bikeygees say, #cyclingisfreedom

Article written by Ashleigh Gallagher

Ride Recap: Airbnb Fundraiser for #BIKEYGEES