- Neighborhood Bike Works
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Neighborhood Bike Works 
Type Nonprofit Industry Youth organizations Founded July 1999
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaHeadquarters 3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Area served University City, West Philadelphia Key people Kitty Heite, Executive Director
Sergio Armani, PresidentEmployees Approx. 10 Website Official Site Established in 1999, the Neighborhood Bike Works is a nonprofit educational organization in West Philadelphia. It seeks to increase educational opportunities for urban youth through bicycling.
Contents
History
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. A shop in the Haddington neighborhood at 60th and Vine opened in 2002, and a shop in North Philadelphia at 1426 W. Susquehanna Avenue, near Temple University opened in 2009. NBW's South Philadelphia shop, called The Bikery, at 508 S. 5th St. opened in 2010.
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 a 7-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.
At the University City location, NBW also operates a community bicycle co-op that offers local residents the opportunity to repair their own bikes without charge, as well as adult bicycle repair classes. The shop in North Philadelphia is a fully functioning retail bike shop specializing in used bicycles and bike repair.
At The Bikery shop in South Philly, community members can drop by during Open Shop hours to fix their bikes, or come during the 'Bike Cafe' to relax and learn about bikes and cycling. As a member of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Arts on South, the South Philly shop embraces alternative uses for bikes and cycling. They host an artist-in-residence, using the space as both workspace and gallery, participate in South Street's Fourth Fridays and are partnered with Gearing Up and Spokes people to teach business skills to women in transition by making bike part jewelry.
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 sold in a silent auction to as a fundraiser for NBW youth programs.
Achievements
- Since 1999, over 4,000 students have earned at least 5000 bicycles.
- In 2002, Neighborhood Bike Works received a Waste Watchers Award for its environmental stewardship from the Pennsylvanian Department of Environmental Protection.[1]
- In 2008, Neighborhood Bike Works won a Sustainability Award from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.[2]
- In 2010, Neighborhood Bike Works received a Sustainability Award from Spiral Q Puppet Theater[3]
- In 2010, Neighborhood Bike Works was named an Exemplary Social Service by the Exemplars Project of Partners for Sacred Places. [4]
- In 2011, Neighborhood Bike Works was nominated for a Human Values Award.[5]
In The News
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,[6] The Philadelphia Inquirer,[7][8] Metro Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Paper,[9] The Daily Pennsylvanian, Comcast Network,[10] and a number of smaller local news sources.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "NBW wins PA Department of Environmental Protection Award". http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/press/Waste_watcher_award.html.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Environmental Council honors 7 Philadelphia Sustainability Award winners". http://www.pecpa.org/node/328.
- ^ "Puppet theater honors community leaders in V-Day gala". http://epgn.com/view/full_story/6029022/article-Puppet-theater-honors-community-leaders-in-V-Day-gala-.
- ^ de Forest, Ann. "Neighborhood Bike Works at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village". Partners for Sacred Places. http://www.sacredplaces.org/documents/NeighborhoodBikeWorks_compressed.pdf.
- ^ "Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW) in the news". Money Matters Today. http://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/news/neighborhood-bike-works-nominated-for-2011-human-values-award/.
- ^ Brotherly Love: Neighborhood Bike Works. CBS 3 News, Philadelphia. July 22, 2009.
- ^ The art of cycling: A bicycle parts craft show. The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 11, 2009.
- ^ Well Being: Ride of Dreams takes them far. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 1, 2011.
- ^ Biketopia: How to make Philly a cyclist's paradise. Philadelphia City Paper. June 3, 2009.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3qzs5yl_tY
- ^ Switching Gears: West Philly's Earn a Bike program brings kids wheels, skills and life lessons. Fourteenth Street Magazine. May 2009.
External links
- NeighborhoodBikeWorks.org, Official Site.
- Neighborhood Bike Works Bike Part Art Show, Annual benefit exhibition of local art created from used bicycle parts.
- Money Matters Today segment on Neighborhood Bike Works, Profiling Neighborhood Bike Works's success in youth development.
Categories:- Youth organizations based in Pennsylvania
- Organizations based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Cycling in the United States
- Youth development organizations
- Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania
- Cycling organizations in the United States
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