In June, Daedalus competed in the Pittsburgh Business Times' Social Madness Challenge, a corporate challenge that measures the growth of a company's social media activity. We competed against 77 other small, local businesses to gather Facebook likes, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, and votes cast at the Business Times website. The top eight companies would advance to a new round. Although Daedalus had a very strong showing, steadily climbing into the top eight, we fell to ninth on the last day and did not advance.
To encourage support for Daedalus during the challenge, we committed to donating $1 to local Pittsburgh charity Free Ride for every like, follow, connect, or vote. Free Ride is a community-run bicycle shop that is dedicated to recycling discarded bikes and bike parts; offers mechanical education to adults and children; and helps people obtain, maintain, and repair bicycles. The organization started 11 years ago and annually gives away or sells about 1200 bikes. It is completely self-sustaining, operating nearly exclusively on volunteer hours. At Free Ride, anyone can obtain a bike, through purchase or donation - or by earning one. As one of Free Rides' committed volunteers, Brian Sink, put it, "volunteer hours are this shop's currency." Those who cannot afford to purchase a bike can volunteer their time instead. Thanks to your support, Daedalus is donating $680 dollars to Free Rides' youth program, in which kids of all ages learn road repair techniques. At the completion of the course, they receive a bike with a helmet and lock. The donation will help more children own their own bikes and have the knowledge and skills to maintain them. For more information about Free Ride and what they offer to Pittsburgh, visit their website. Thanks for your support and congratulations to Pittsburgh's small business champion, Pittsburgh Human Resources Association, for advancing to the national Social Madness competition.