Bicycles for immigrants - are there groups that do this?
August 21, 2021 1:46 PM Subscribe
Are there groups that collect and prepare bicycles for use by recent U.S. immigrants? It seems like this would be the highest&best use for a lot of bicycles that are just taking up space in people's garages.
What happens when a group sets out to do this, what difficulties do they encounter?
What happens when a group sets out to do this, what difficulties do they encounter?
Bikes for Refugees do this in Scotland, which doesn’t help you find a US group, but a scroll through their facebook page will give you an idea of the challenges they face - similar to most charities, it seems to be predominantly the constant need for donations of time and money to make it work.
posted by penguin pie at 3:00 PM on August 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 3:00 PM on August 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
There are bicycle coops in many cities that provide free or low cost bicycles to whomever needs them. I am familiar with one in Saint Louis and one in Dayton, OH. The one in Dayton (Facebook page link) just recently did give away about a dozen children's bikes to recent immigrants. They fix up and sell adult bikes to help fund their work, and they provide community workshops, etc. too. I'm sorry, this is only sort of an answer because they aren't exclusively refugee focused.
posted by dbx at 4:27 PM on August 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by dbx at 4:27 PM on August 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts-based Bikes Not Bombs offers advice on how to find, start or improve a bike program.
They are a nonprofit that receives 5,000-6,000 donated used bikes a year. They refurbish and sell 800-1,000 of them; about 1,000 are set aside for a program that teaches local young people how to fix and maintain bikes, and the rest go to local organizations in the global south that are "using the bicycle to drive social change in their communities."
posted by virago at 5:14 PM on August 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
They are a nonprofit that receives 5,000-6,000 donated used bikes a year. They refurbish and sell 800-1,000 of them; about 1,000 are set aside for a program that teaches local young people how to fix and maintain bikes, and the rest go to local organizations in the global south that are "using the bicycle to drive social change in their communities."
posted by virago at 5:14 PM on August 21, 2021 [4 favorites]
Paperwork: Getting a 501(c)(3) designation (can take a year or more), bookkeeping, filing taxes
Logistics: Renting a space to store the donated bikes until they are fixed and go out the door. Renting a space to have a storefront; paying insurance; maintaining a stock of common parts and a few sets of quality tools
Workforce: hiring and keeping experienced mechanics; keeping volunteers busy; compliance with labor regulations;
Development: Assembling a board of directors and having regular meetings; applying for grants; planning joint events with other civic groups; keeping up a website and social media presence
You can probably keep it going with a core group of at least three people, each with strong skills, working full time, for free, as long as there are generous ongoing cash donations.
posted by dum spiro spero at 5:41 PM on August 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Logistics: Renting a space to store the donated bikes until they are fixed and go out the door. Renting a space to have a storefront; paying insurance; maintaining a stock of common parts and a few sets of quality tools
Workforce: hiring and keeping experienced mechanics; keeping volunteers busy; compliance with labor regulations;
Development: Assembling a board of directors and having regular meetings; applying for grants; planning joint events with other civic groups; keeping up a website and social media presence
You can probably keep it going with a core group of at least three people, each with strong skills, working full time, for free, as long as there are generous ongoing cash donations.
posted by dum spiro spero at 5:41 PM on August 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
Earn-a-bike programs are common with community bike shops. Sometimes they also do things like give away bikes to programs such as for new immigrants and refugees. And a lot of the ones that don't might be willing to start such a program if you were willing to put some time in to make it happen. Click on the above link to find the nearest community bike shop near you. If you know of one that isn't on the list, contact me and I'll add it or help you get a wiki account so you can add it yourself.
If you want to learn more about community bike shops, you can join the ThinkTank listserv and start listening. Or view the archives.
If you want to learn more about starting your own community bike shop, the bike collectives wiki starter kit is a good place to start.
We are about to open registration for a pay-what-you-can international online conference of community bike shops, email bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com for the registration link if you're interested.
posted by aniola at 9:25 AM on August 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you want to learn more about community bike shops, you can join the ThinkTank listserv and start listening. Or view the archives.
If you want to learn more about starting your own community bike shop, the bike collectives wiki starter kit is a good place to start.
We are about to open registration for a pay-what-you-can international online conference of community bike shops, email bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com for the registration link if you're interested.
posted by aniola at 9:25 AM on August 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I suspect the biggest difficulty is one common to any group that accepts donations: completely unusable garbage. (Which, I assure you, the bike I donated was not. Needed adjustments and likely a new chain and tubes -- I gave them my spares -- but it was otherwise in great shape.)
posted by humbug at 2:16 PM on August 21, 2021 [1 favorite]