Neighborhood Bike Works

Neighborhood Bike Works
Nonprofit
Industry Youth organizations
Founded July 1999
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Headquarters 3939 & 3943 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Area served
 University City, West Philadelphia, Mantua, Powelton Village, Belmont
Number of employees
 Approx. 12
Website Official Site

Established in 1999, Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW) is a nonprofit educational organization in West Philadelphia. NBW provides educational, recreational, and career-building opportunities for urban youth in underserved neighborhoods in greater Philadelphia through bicycling; it also promotes cycling as a healthy, affordable, environment-friendly form of transportation.

History and Locations

Formerly located at Saint Mary's Church (40th and Locust Walk), on the University of Pennsylvania campus, NBW started in 1996 as Youth Cycle & Recycle, a program of The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. It became a separate non-profit in July 1999. NBW operated a shop in the Haddington neighborhood at 60th and Vine from 2003-2012, and a shop in North Philadelphia at 1426 W. Susquehanna Ave., near Temple University, from 2009-2015. NBW's South Philadelphia shop, called The Bikery, at 508 S. 5th St. was open from 2010-2013. In 2015, Neighborhood Bike Works moved all of its operations to its current and only location on Lancaster Avenue.[1][2]

2007 MLK Service Day
Slow bike race with Haddington on the Move, 2005.

Activities

NBW runs Earn-A-Bike classes for youth on bike repair and bike safety after school, on weekends, and in the summer. Students complete an eight-week basic bicycle repair class, fixing up used bikes donated by the community. Upon completion, they earn this bike for themselves, together with a helmet and lock. The program features mentoring and positive role models.

Many past youth participants have remained involved in the program, improving their skills while earning credits used to buy parts and accessories. Other programs for youth include summer camps, a youth cycling team that participates in cycling races, leadership development, academic support and tutoring, mountain biking training, and a yearly charity bike build.

NBW also operates a community Open Shop called "Bike Church" that offers local residents the opportunity to repair their own bikes without charge, as well as adult bicycle repair classes.

Every year since 2003, NBW has held an annual Bike Part Art Show, which allows local artists to make artwork from old bike parts or celebrating bike culture. Art is also sold in a silent auction as a fundraiser for NBW youth programs.

Achievements

Media coverage

Bike ride with instructors and students at 40th and Locust, 2005.

For its unique approach to community development, Neighborhood Bike Works has garnered press coverage in The New York Times, CBS News,[8] The Philadelphia Inquirer,[9][10] Metro Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Paper,[11] The Daily Pennsylvanian, Comcast Network,[12] and a number of smaller local news sources.[13]

See also

References

Coordinates: 39°57′09″N 75°12′07″W / 39.9524°N 75.2019°W / 39.9524; -75.2019

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.