Rich Bonanno from the Rolling Wave Foundation in Scituate visited with the Ideas+ Passport group and discussed philanthropy and nonprofits.

Students learned that Rich started the Rolling Wave Foundation nine years ago when he found a few beat-up bicycles on the side of the road and decided to fix them up to give away to neighborhood kids. Since then, Rich has repaired and given away over 8,000 bikes to not only children, but adults, too—including veterans and people experiencing homelessness in our immediate community but also all over the country and the world.

In addition to bikes, the Rolling Wave Foundation also supplies everyday living items to people in need. Rich recently spearheaded efforts to send supplies to families in Florida and North Carolina following the hurricane devastation. 

Teacher Erika Hoddinott was inspired to reach out to Rich after learning about his generosity, including hurricane relief donations to Boone, NC, where Erika has family. She wanted the students to learn from someone who has done philanthropy work from the ground up.

Rich emphasized how to identify problems in the community and then how to work to resolve those problems. He emphasized taking the words “no” and “can’t” out of your vocabulary completely, and he spoke about the importance of reputation to a non-profit in today’s social media-driven world.

“The students have already been buzzing about ways to incorporate Rich’s wisdom into their projects,” says Erika. “Rich may even give us some practical experience in fundraising this December when we collaborate to run a student-driven Toy Drive on behalf of Rolling Waves Foundation.

“Social media presence for non-profit groups has been a major source of conversation in this group, so we are looking into how non-profits market themselves in that capacity and how to establish a positive reputation in the community, as Rich has. I also want students to look deeply at their ‘why.’ Why are they inspired by this work, and what will keep them going? Rich was a great inspiration for them, and I want them to tap into that and keep that momentum going forward!”