BIKE WORKS SEATTLE
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Mission Statement
Bike Works promotes the bicycle as a vehicle for change by empowering youth and building resilient communities. Since 1996 we have worked to advance three key organizational goals: 1) empower youth to lead healthy and productive lives; 2) make biking accessible and affordable to people from all walks of life; and 3) promote sustainable transportation and environmental stewardship.
About This Cause
Bike Works serves the youth and community of Southeast Seattle, an area that, compared with Seattle as a whole, has comparatively high rates of poverty and poor community health indicators. In addition, this area is home to some of the lowest performing schools in King County. To help address these challenges, Bike Works provides enriching programs that encourage youth to be physically active, support their healthy development, and engage them in their surrounding community. We actively recruit youth from nearby zip codes as participants in our programs, resulting in nearly half of youth in our internal programs being from surrounding neighborhoods, 57% of our participants being youth of color, and 65% receiving scholarship assistance to our programs. Our adults programs empower people traditionally marginalized by bike culture, as well as cyclists of all levels of experience. Program goals & strategies: Our youth programs increase the self-confidence, empowerment and community awareness of participants. These programs include: • Earn-a-Bike (EAB) After-School and Drop-in Community Service Repair Programs where youth engage in hands-on learning activities that combine critical thinking, practical skills, teamwork, and mentoring. After learning basics of bicycle repair, youth refurbish bicycles for other youth in need, and then earn a bike for themselves. They can continue this work in our free, twice-weekly Drop-In Community Service Program, where youth rewarded for their hard work by earning bikes and parts as they log more hours. • Street Burners Weekly Riding Program, which offers a community where youth feel they belong and are empowered to find their voice through leadership development activities. Free weekly activities, from bike rides to field trips, keep youth involved in positive, healthy activities and connected to the natural world. • R.I.D.E.S. Club (Ride, Investigate, Discover the Environment & Society), an eight-week program where youth physically explore their local environment and society while developing their bike riding skills. The curriculum focuses on green living, environmental justice, youth leadership, and the values of giving back to one’s community. • UGottaGetABike, one of our Community Partnerships Programs offered in collaboration with schools and nonprofits to get low-income youth (those on free or reduced lunch subsidies) on bicycles. This one-day program teaches youth how to fix a flat tire, get their chain back on, and safely ride a bike. Participants go home with a "new" bike—refurbished by youth in our after-school programs—and a helmet to keep. • Bicycle Summer Camps, which allow youth to be active and explore their world by bicycle, while instilling values for environmental stewardship, leadership, and healthy living. Many youth who participate are experiencing camping in the wilderness for the first time. All tours include curriculum around leave-no-trace ethics and protecting the environment. • Bicycle Leaders, an ongoing program for older youth that includes advanced repair classes and camps, mentoring, service on the Youth Advisory Committee, and internships as ride leaders or bike shop mechanics. We also have spots for two youth to sit on our Board. • Job Skills Training Program, a new program offering for at-risk youth. In this 12-week program, youth are recruited through a vocational training partnership with YouthCare and the Seattle Public School’s Interagency Academy. Curriculum for this program combines both bicycle mechanics “hard skills” as well as professional “soft skills,” with the goal of giving participants the skills needed to obtain an entry-level job in a bike shop. Our adult programs are also designed to break down barriers to cycling and empower participants. For many, lack of transportation is a barrier to keeping a job and providing for their families. Our Bikes for All! Program provides marginalized adults with a commuter bike complete with lights, a lock and a helmet needed for successful year-round bicycle transportation. More importantly, the program provides participants with quality bicycle safety instruction. Bike Works enjoys a broad base of community support, resulting in steady fiscal growth and stability. Our funding plan is driven by our innovative model of earned income. Our social enterprise community bicycle shop sells recycled, low-cost bicycles to the public. All bike shop profits are invested in our youth and community programs, and generate nearly half of our organizational revenue.