You may have read Jack’s post a while back (in May) asking for bikes. Well, I’m back to do it again in a little different way. Like any community organization, we are accountable to the “community.” That would be the folks that come in the door as program participants or as program donors. If we say we teach kids to build bikes, are we actually teaching them anything? If you donate bikes to us and we tell you it will help fuel our programs, how do you know that is what we are doing?
The answer to those questions is through reporting which we’ve made an effort to get better at. We have a fairly good reputation due to the hard work of those that have come before us. We plan to maintain that and even make it better.
So, I’m gonna ask for help getting us bikes, but in return I’m gonna get you information so you can see what we are doing with these bikes. I’m also going to ask for a certain number of bikes and keep you updated on what is coming in each week. When I update you each week I’ll be sharing what has happened the previous week in youth programming.
So, for the 2012 Hub Bike Drive I’m asking you all to help us get 300 bikes donated by September 1st. This is a pretty lofty goal, we will admit, but we are going to try. The reason we set the September 1st deadline is because that is when our “busy season” begins to wind down. September 1st is also the day of this years Safe Streets Youth Ride.
So if you go back to Jack’s post you will see a photo of what the warehouse looked like many years ago when it was full. Let me show you a more recent photo:
You may notice that the left side is WAY more full than the right side. Let me break down why that is (it isn’t because we were intentionally making a deceiving photo):
What kinds of bikes are on the left:
- Trashed frames that cannot be built up safely
- Bikes built up to give away to youth under 7 years old
- Bikes to go to an Earn-a-Bike program starting up in the Osborn Neighborhood
What kinds of bikes are on the right:
- Bikes for all of our youth programs
- New donations that just arrived and need to be inspected
So basically once we send some of these bikes off to the Osborn Neighborhood and do a scrap run, both sides are going to be looking pretty slim. Also, the “bikes on the right” start where that white and green cruiser is. As of yesterday, that cruiser is gone (a teenager built it up and earned it!). So to continue running our programs, we need your assistance.
We are also making other changes to help reach our goal (and help you help us reach that goal). The best way to make donations is by dropping bikes off at our retail shop location during their hours. However, if you have multiple bikes, give us a call and we may be able to arrange to come pick them up.
You may have to wait, because we will not be able to pick bikes up everyday, but once we establish a few pick ups that are close to each other we can come around and get the bicycles. Also, if you are able to assist with picking up bicycles (if you have a large truck or van) and would like to donate your time, we would love you forever.
So we have a challenge – 300 bikes in two months. Look for fliers at your neighborhood bike shop and other community gathering spaces soon!
– jason x