When 18-year-old Colin Rudolph was killed in a car accident in 2007, his parents Colleen and Walter wanted to find a way to honour their fallen son and his passions.

It was then that they founded the Bicycles for Humanity Calgary chapter.

“It was a no-brainer for us,” said Colleen Rudolph. “Colin was always excited about giving forward and giving back to people in the community. It just made sense because of where he was at and what he wanted to do.”

Friends and family who knew the enthusiastic young man were fully aware of his love of biking. He spent four years working at a bicycle repair shop in downtown Calgary. His summers were busy with mountain biking and, of course, he was constantly cycling.

Bicycles for Humanity was the perfect fit.

The grassroots organization is focused on making sure bicycles stay out of landfills and instead land in the hands of people who need them.

Started in 2005 by a couple in British Columbia, the non-profit has grown in the years since, expanding across the world.

Most of the Bicycle for Humanity divisions — and there are many — primarily focus on sending bikes abroad. But given Colin Rudolph’s passion in the local community, the group decided to focus their efforts both internationally and right at home.

“We found there was a need in our own backyard that shouldn’t be ignored,” said Thian Hundert, the organization’s unofficial director, who has been volunteering for them since Day 1.

“It’s a very active city with a lot of generous people who have a bike they may have used for a number of years but have since moved on to a new one,” said Hundert. “This allows them to pass on their bikes, have someone else continue to love it while also making sure it stays out of the landfills.”

Last year alone, the group recycled approximately 1,300 bicycles. About 300 were dispersed to communities in Calgary, with Bicycles for Humanity acting as the “middle man”, says Hundert, providing bikes to other local groups in need.

In April, 600 bicycles were sent to a school in Mexico while 400 are sitting in a container ready to be shipped to Uganda shortly.

Bicycles for Humanity in Calgary is up for a 2014 Emerald Award in the non-profit category. The awards, administered by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, recognize outstanding commitment to environmental initiatives in the province.

Collecting donated bicycles and redistributing them in the city is the easy part. Finding a place to store the bikes before they are shipped to different corners of the world is more challenging.

Right now, the organization relies on volunteers to store the donations. Hundert has about 75 bikes in his backyard.

Having a cluttered yard full of wheels all feels worth it to Hundert when he hears of the impact the organization is making on people around the world.

“In some places, if you have a bicycle it will take 20 minutes, instead of an hour, to get from one point to another,” said Hundert. “Having a bike can mean it won’t take a mother all day to carry her daily allocation of water.”

“The beauty of this organization is that it reaches so many levels,” said Rudolph. “It’s giving back to your community and giving forward nationally and internationally. Giving forward is all about understanding that as a world, we are a community.”