AMBUCS began life as American Business Clubs, a civic membership organization dedicated to helping people challenged with mobility and independence, in 1922. We shortened it to AMBUCS (pronounced AM-BUCKS) in 1961 as a part of a rebranding campaign.
In the mid-1990s we started making and giving away adaptive tricycles as a national project. Just to keep everyone confused we called both the trykes and the company that makes them, Amtryke. Amtryke®, LLC is fully owned by National AMBUCS™, Inc.
Through the years our model transformed to the extent that we changed our tax status from a 501c4 (service club) to a 501c3 (public charity) in 1996.
AMBUCS now has around 5,000 members in 157 chapters in over 36 states. Our members work on a grassroots level to fulfill our mission statement:
Inspiring people to conquer challenges related to mobility and independence, through a nationwide network of volunteer chapters, working in partnership with physical, occupational and speech therapists; by providing Amtryke adaptive trykes, scholarships for therapists and many forms of community service.
The Amtryke adaptive tricycle program is one of the main ways we do that. Our members fundraise for and give away about 3,500 Amtrykes each year. AMBUCS chapters and members have also funded over $8.9 million in educational scholarships for therapists and choose to help their individual communities in a variety of other meaningful ways.
The AMBUCS Resource Center (ARC) in High Point, NC houses a small but dedicated staff working to support the work of our chapters. If you have any questions, please never hesitate to contact us.