Volunteers

Looking for Community Service hours?

These high school juniors needed hours for the National Honor Society requirement.

Dan at Working Bikes set them up stripping parts of off bicycles that are too far gone to repair.  Working Bikes takes donations of any bicycles in any condition.  There is some value in every bicycle.  We have bins of parts to help you with your project.  The proceeds from the sale of parts keeps the Co-Op going.  Even though we are not-for-profit, we do have expenses, not the least of which are the gas and electric bills.  Funds are also need to pay the shipping charges to get the containers full of bicycles to our partners in developing nations. 

A volunteer can come in not knowing anything about the functionality of a bicycle.  Dan sets you up stripping a bicycle down, which inversly prepares you for bicycle repair and assembly.  You are exposed to many specialty tools designed for specific parts. 

Before long you will be overhauling hubs, bottom brackets, and headsets! More importently, you'll know what each of those things are.

There is always great music in the background and lots of fellowship going on. 

Give it a try

2013 New Years Resolution #1

Volunteer one more day at The Working Bikes Cooperative than you did in 2012.

I'm off to a good start.  I'll be there on Wednesday January 2nd. 

Your Working Bikes Volunteer

Ode to The Working Bikes Volunteer

From lawyers to managers, PhD's to clerks
They volunteer because they want to, they like the work
They are dedicated to a cause
They hustle, and toil, and triumph
So that others may know FREEDOM
They volunteer so those souls in developing nations
Can experience the wind in their face
As they pedal, and crank, and ride the bicycles we have gathered
Ride their bicycles to work, to advance, to succeed

The conditions at the Co-Op can be less than ideal
With the air on in the Winter
And the heat on in the Summer
But Lee is working on that

There are bicycles, and grease, and wrenches
And volunteers with different faces
From all kinds of places
And a common bond that brings us All Together

They load bicycles into shipping containers
Hey, do you know where that bicycle came from
From a basement or garage not fulfilling its' purpose
Thank you for donating it and
Giving an old bicycle a new home

Volunteers attend events and pedal a bike machine
They show how this simple machine can generate electricity
To show the virtues of a true Working Bike

They volunteer their time and expertise
And in return WB gives them satisfaction
And pride
So if you need a ride
Give Working Bikes a try
They ReCycle, They ReUse
They give of themselves

They are the Working Bikes Volunteer

Bike Count

Volunteers needed for downtown Chicago bike count June 26 & 30


Help document the demand for more bikeways in Chicago! The Chicago Department of Transportation's Bicycle Program is recruiting volunteers to help out with the June 2012 Downtown Bike Count during one or more of the following times:

•Tue., June 26, 7a.m. – 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

•Sat., June 30, noon – 2 p.m.

Approximately 25 volunteers are needed for each of the three time slots.

Volunteers help record changes in seasonal ridership, document the need for bicycle infrastructure and help advance Chicago’s commitment to be the most bicycle friendly city in America.

In March 2012, volunteers recorded more than 4,100 bicyclists at 24 locations entering and exiting the central business district during the morning and afternoon peak hours.

To volunteer or to learn more, please contact: Dave Smith, CDOT Bikeways Planner, at david.smith@cityofchicago.org or 312.742.7620.

The Bike Library

The Bike Library is a volunteer-run community bike project located in Iowa City, IA. They repair donated bikes and check them out to the public. Bikes are priced with a deposit (ranging from $30-$100). If a bike is returned in good condition within the six-month checkout period, the full amount of the deposit will be returned to the user. Alternately, patrons can choose to keep their bikes and forfeit their deposit.