Bikes for Kids Wisconsin’s First cohort of students in the fall Bike Mechanics workforce development program.
Kristie GoForth
| So, check this out: A group of 12 middle school kids spend all day in school. Then, they take taxis to our bike center to learn how to build bikes, change flats, and adjust hand brakes. Then, when it’s time for them to take taxis back to the school, they refuse to leave. That’s right! These kids are so enthusiastic about this class even after a full day of learning at Wright Middle School. It’s just one of the reasons why we are so committed to building up this program. It is somewhat ironic that transportation barriers are the biggest challenge with this program. There is no bussing or shuttle service for them to get to the bike center. It’s one of the reasons we are also committed to purchasing our Bike Bus—so we can pick them up and maximize the time they spend learning how to fix bikes. The vision for our Bike Bus is a vehicle that is versatile with removable seats so we can haul bikes when needed, but we can also pick up the kids from school and take them home. You may be asking, Why don’t they just ride their bikes to the bike center? In a perfect world, that’s how it would work. But in reality, many of the kids do not live in areas that are safe for 11-13 year olds to bike alone. Requiring a child to bike home at dusk to apartments off a frontage road of the Beltline or riding on Park Street to their homes where safe bike infrastructure is limited can be dangerous. Biking isn’t feasible for all of them, and they must have access to safe transportation. If you’d like to contribute to our fundraising campaign to purchase our Bike Bus, please click here. Calling Corporate Groups! We are booking corporate groups for Fridays throughout our peak volunteer season (November-March) if you’d like to get on our calendar. Previous volunteers have shared how much they enjoy the team-building aspect of doing the work with their colleagues, giving back, and being a part of something that is having a direct impact on the lives of people who most need support. Email us to schedule your Friday. The calendar is filling up so please don’t delay if you’d like to pitch in this season. Don’t forget: October 12 will be our bike donation drive! Note that our bike donation drive takes place in Madison, Platteville and Appleton on October 12th. If you have friends and family in those areas, we’d love it if you could share this link with them. You can donate bikes in Madison any time. We prefer modern, gently used bikes but will accept all unwanted bikes. Thank you to all who contribute to us in meaningful ways,Kristie GoForth, Executive Director |
| We are extending a big thank you to Park Tool for supporting our Bike Mechanics program with a donation of bike stands and tools! |