Since the summer of 2000, Back Alley Bikes and the Hub of Detroit have made thousands of rebuilt bicycles available at no cost to young riders through our Earn-A-Bike program and community partnerships. In 2011 alone, youth participants and volunteers built over 400 bicycles, many of which were distributed to other charitable organizations around the city of Detroit. Though it is entirely needless to say, these outreach efforts are simply not possible without a substantial amount of material support in the form of used bicycle donations from people like you.
In the nearly 13 years since we first put out a call for donated bicycles, we have been the fortunate recipients of a considerable amount of community support. Donors from police departments to universities to bicycle retailers to individuals from all over southeast Michigan have pitched in to help further our mission of youth access to cycling. While this generosity has allowed the scope and volume of our programming to expand over the years, this expansion has also resulted in increased bicycle turnover as we work to furnish useable bicycles for our endeavors.
Please consider joining our community for the 2012 cycling season as we prepare another significant expansion of our youth programming. Starting in the summer of 2012, the Youth Earn-A-Bike program will take place four days a week (instead of Saturdays only), and we will convene weekly rides for program participants from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Your donation of a used bicycle directly supports Detroit youth cycling by helping us grow a proven model of empowerment and education.
Your donated bike will support the following youth projects at the Hub:
- Youth Earn-a-Bike: Year-round program for youth (ages 8-16) to build and keep a bike for free
- Youth Rides: Weekly rides all summer long to teach youth safe cycling skills for life
- Mechanics-in-Training: A paid internship for high school-aged youth to work as part of our staff
- Youth Bike Give-a-Way: Free bikes for youth 7 and younger given out through partnerships with local social service agencies and schools
While we are happy to accept monetary support, we are proud of the fact that our programs are made possible almost entirely through the reuse of donated bicycles. We love making it possible for you to help the city’s cycling community by contributing your used bicycle, and we thank you for considering the Hub of Detroit as a recipient of your generosity.
How to Donate:
Donations may be dropped off at our retail shop at 3611 Cass Ave. in Detroit anytime during normal business hours. To schedule an alternate drop-off time, please contact our program office at (313)879-5072 from Tuesday through Friday 12pm – 4pm. While we generally require our donors to provide their own transportation, we are willing to help make arrangements to accept larger donations (more than 25 bicycles).