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Today's Topics:
1. Bike!Bike! Los Angeles - Travel Equity (Fabian W.)
2. Re: Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away bikes (DancesWithCars)
3. Re: Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away bikes (Cycle-Re-Cycle)
4. Re: Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away bikes (Bike Talk)
------------------------------------------------------------ ----------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2018 21:39:13 -0400
From: "Fabian W." <fabian@pedaludico.org>
To: "'The Think Tank'" <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org >
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Bike!Bike! Los Angeles - Travel Equity
Message-ID: <00d801d41337$d0ee6380$72cb2a80$@pedaludico.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hello Everyone,
I?m Fabian W. and I?m a member of the Bike!Bike! 2018 ? Los Angeles
organizing committee. One of my specific tasks is to promote and facilitate
participation in our event by Mexican, Central American and South American
bike groups.
There are two main components to this effort:
Promote the event among groups in those regions.
I?m already reaching out to many across the region but if you know of any
specific ones I would really appreciate the contact information.
Fundraise for our travel equity program.
Participation by south-of-the-US Border groups is very difficult because of
the cost of visas and airfare.
Jim Mayerstein from Mexico has shared with me some important background
information about travel equity funding in previous Bike!Bike! gatherings
starting with Detroit. Jim mentioned that a couple of the collectives from
Canada were able to do significant funding towards this (Bike Sauce from
Toronto and Our Community Bikes from Vancouver).
The Los Angeles Bike!Bike! organizing committee is going to do as much
funding for this as possible but any contributions or ideas from the rest of
the BikeCollectives community would be very appreciated.
We have started a crowd funding site at: https://bikebike2018.raisely.com/ .
Any contributions there would help give momentum to that effort.
So, please if you have any ideas or have specific resources in relationship
to both the promotion of the event south-of-the-US Border or, more
importantly, in regards to funding our southern friends please contact me at
fabian@ucla.edu <mailto:fabian@ucla.edu>
Looking forward to meeting many of you in LA in September,
_fabian
Bike!Bike! 2018, Los Angeles, Organizing Committee
Professor, Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, UCLA
Director, PedaL?dico, Buenos Aires, Argentina ( <http://pedaludico.org>
http://pedaludico.org)
Director, cheLA, Buenos Aires, Argentina (http://chela.org.ar)
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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2018 23:06:26 -0400
From: DancesWithCars <danceswithcars@gmail.com>
To: The Think Tank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org >
Cc: Matt VanSlyke <matt@uticabikerescue.org>
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away
bikes
Message-ID:
<CA+zqz3V-f5RZ4xPO_-tC7GZGFjfX3tUbLCnO_ >za5VuiZ24XU+g@mail.gmail.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
The need to win an argument/debate/persuade the older male, may be a
personal issue that needs looking at.
As far as earn a bike v. Giving bikes away, Gift a Bike is a requirement of
some earn a bikes. Do for another as part of the volunteer requirement of
earn a bike. These are reconditioning donated bikes and parts. The
recipient is likely low income, too young, and already determinef to need
it, say around holiday time for a major gift.
In the areas, the rich get them anyway, likely not used much, outgrown, and
maybe donated or trashed.
The teach a skill part, sometimes helps keep dignity of the recipient. I
am learning and part of a community.
Earn a bike is also a lot about kids and after school activity. That
carries adult supervision requirements which usually means paid staff. I'm
more liking AVOs, all volunteer orgs, less class divide, more equal
peers... Instead of lowly newbie volunteer needs to polish stuff for the
egos of those who have been there longer. Not dignity nor respect ,imho.
Some are anti gang, no skills for legal employment, so gang is the only
option.
The family they don't have is the weakness exploited and fake binds that
tie...
Someone(s) to watch thier back in hostile environments.
Law, classes, skills, social supports, etc may not exist as most here may
enjoy. Even the internet in a language that one is born into...
Good luck. Different tools for different jobs/tasks.
On Tue, Jul 3, 2018, 09:03 Cyclista Nicholas <cyclista@inventati.org> wrote:
> I think right off the bat, giveaway orgs need more resources, both money
> and time. 1,000 bikes a year for us would be at least 2,000 hours of
> labor and probably would involve throwing away a lot more bikes than we
> do; we repair almost every bike that we accept the donation of
> currently.
>
> Also, there's further money problems downstream for recipients of
> giveaways if they've sought out the bikes for reasons of financial
> insecurity; when the time comes for maintenance, if they are without the
> skill for repair, they often can't afford to pay for it either, and then
> we get a situation of garbage bikes, or a secondary community need for
> free repair.
>
> Last year our shop had over 300 participants, at least half of whom
> returned multiple times. This is far less than 1,000, but we ran it on a
> staff of two operating at a collective 30 hours a week, with very
> sporadic and unskilled volunteer help. Somebody tell me if my numbers
> are way off, but I'm pretty sure giveaway organizations would need to
> spend a couple thousand hours a year more or less exclusively
> concentrating on fixing bikes for giveaway, and then more if they are
> also doing repairs for free. If they aren't doing the latter, I can't
> help but wonder how long those bikes last on the streets before they end
> up dead and abandoned in a backyard or at a curb.
>
> So obviously this is some spitballing. But my impression is giveaways
> are a lot more expensive in general, and optimize for large scale
> transportation empowerment rather than a more targeted and multifaceted
> empowerment with benefits beyond transportation.
>
> Cyclista Nicholas
>
>
>
> On 2018-07-03 01:25, Matt VanSlyke wrote:
> > Hi Sylvie,
> > We are also in a situation where there is a local giveaway that we are
> > frequently confused with. They have been around for about 10 years and
> > we
> > have been operating for 5. They have a bigger marketing budget and use
> > it
> > to promote their 1-day, 1,000-bike hand out. We operate year round and
> > spend as much time as needed to help people get bikes. That means we
> > redistribute fewer bikes but we feel we deliver a better service.
> >
> > Although it's a tired cliche (which I acknowledge in conversation)
> > people
> > who ask "do you give away bikes?" always understand when I say that we
> > follow more or less a "teach a person to fish" approach. They also
> > understand when I explain why we sell bikes in addition to offering
> > earn-a-bike. I tell them that we believe everyone should have some skin
> > in
> > the game and therefore it would be incongruous to our mission if we
> > asked
> > for handouts form organizations. We do enjoy and appreciate the
> > financial
> > support we've received on a few occasions from grantmaking
> > organizations
> > but we rely on revenue that we generate through hardwork, just like we
> > ask
> > our customers to do.
> >
> > I've had this conversation enough times now that I have it polished
> > pretty
> > well. I can't recall a single instance where someone has left the
> > conversation feeling as if we're doing it wrong, in fact it's usually
> > an
> > eye-opening experience for them. My theory on why this is the case is
> > because I think many people out there are still unfamiliar with the
> > social
> > enterprise concept and seem to still think that non-profit means "no
> > money".
> >
> > I applaud the passion and caring of the many bike giveaway programs out
> > there. I know several of them that do excellent refurbishing and
> > provide
> > free bikes to people who truly need and appreciate them. My experience
> > locally has been different and that's why we stick to our guns.
> >
> > I hope this helps. I'm willing to chat more on the phone if you'd like.
> > Feel free to call me if you want.
> >
> > -Matt
> >
> > *Matt VanSlyke*
> > Executive Director
> > 315.525.9554 | matt@uticabikerescue.orgwww.UticaBikeRescue.org
> > <http://facebook.com/uticabikerescue >
> > <http://instagram.com/uticabikerescue >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 2:04 PM, Paul Fitzgerald <paul@workingbikes.org>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Sylvie and all,
> >>
> >> I don't believe I understand the nature of your meeting. Are you
> >> attempting to steer the "Second Change" mission or figuring out some
> >> type
> >> of strategic partnership with a different org?
> >>
> >> I would like to solicit more opinions or discussion on the
> >> 'earn-a-bike'
> >> model, though. I've worked for and with organizations which heavily
> >> used
> >> it, particularly in working with young people. I've been at Working
> >> Bikes
> >> for about 8 years now, and while we invite all community members to
> >> volunteer and earn timeshare 'credits' towards parts for their bike,
> >> we
> >> also give away more than 1,000 bikes a year locally through our Cycle
> >> of
> >> Power and Cycle of Peace programs. We've used these donations to make
> >> powerful partnerships with many different types of organizations, many
> >> of
> >> which do not use bicycles as a primary focus of their mission. Adult
> >> recipients are invited to volunteer or pay a 'co-pay' or $20 towards
> >> the
> >> bike, helmet and lock we provide, but most decline.
> >>
> >> At a certain point, it may be a question of volume, it feels
> >> paternalistic
> >> to me to tell someone they have to "earn" a resource an organization
> >> has
> >> the ability to redistribute. I take the question of service vs.
> >> charity
> >> seriously, but I also believe in the radical redistribution of
> >> resources. I
> >> don't think it is sustainable for everyone who would benefit from a
> >> service
> >> to have to learn how that service operates to receive it. There
> >> definitely
> >> are strong arguments for earn-a-bike, as well as super "CHARITY"
> >> <http://fb4k.org/> bike orgs starting up.
> >>
> >> I've been pondering this discussion as a possible B!B! workshop or
> >> roundtable of sorts. I hope you don't feel I've hijacked your thread
> >> with
> >> hypotheticals, Sylvie, and wish you luck with your meeting.
> >>
> >> peace n bike grease,
> >> Paul
> >>
> >> On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 11:58 AM, Therese Kilpatrick <
> >> therese@projectbiketech.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi Sylvie,
> >>> I don't know your specific circumstances but perhaps your group can
> >>> coexist with this gentleman's targeting different recipients. If the
> >>> earn-a-bike model is what you want to invest in with your time and
> >>> resources and someone else is "giving away" bikes - how do they pay
> >>> for the
> >>> parts/consumables necessary to restore bikes? Are they also working
> >>> in a
> >>> non-profit or are they paying for everything themselves? Could they
> >>> be
> >>> brought into your model if it were explained how there is more than a
> >>> bike
> >>> that is being "given". I hope that he will be able to listen to why
> >>> the
> >>> earn-a-bike model has much more social impact through teaching and
> >>> the
> >>> recipients "owning" the bike through work and how it is a shared
> >>> experience. There is also the parable of giving fish versus teaching
> >>> someone how to fish...
> >>> Good luck and let me know how it went,
> >>> Therese Kilpatrick
> >>> Project Bike Tech Teacher - Aptos High School
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 8:13 AM, Sylvie Baele <sylvgrb@gmail.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Alright friends, I am reaching out for some resources.. I have a
> >>>> meeting
> >>>> soon with a guy who has an organization which gives away bikes.
> >>>> "Second
> >>>> Chance Bikes"
> >>>>
> >>>> Now, I don't disagree with giving people bikes... but I think the
> >>>> bike
> >>>> collective model (like earn-a-bike) is more empowering and
> >>>> sustainable
> >>>> long-term. And of course encourages safer riding, all while building
> >>>> community...
> >>>>
> >>>> Got any resources (or data) that can help support my/our position?
> >>>> I am
> >>>> a bit nervous as my meeting is with an older white male and I'm a
> >>>> younger
> >>>> female. He's already mansplained me once before.
> >>>>
> >>>> Bikes!
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Sylvie Baele
> >>>>
> >>>> *"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness
> >>>> depends
> >>>> more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of
> >>>> those
> >>>> events themselves." - Alexander von Humbolt*
> >>>>
> >>>> ____________________________________
> >>>>
> >>>> The ThinkTank mailing List
> >>>>
> >>>> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.o
> >>>> rg/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> ____________________________________
> >>>
> >>> The ThinkTank mailing List
> >>>
> >>> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.o
> >>> rg/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Paul Fitzgerald
> >> General Manager, Working Bikes
> >> Pronouns <https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/ >: him, his,
> >> he
> >> 2434 S. Western, Chicago, IL 60608
> >> 773-847-5440
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> -------------------------------------------------
> >> Store Hours: Wed, Thurs, Fri- 11am-7pm
> >> Sat - 10am-6pm
> >> Sun - 11am-4pm
> >>
> >>
> >> Volunteer Hours: Tues- 5-9pm
> >> Wed- 12-5pm
> >> Sat- 12-5pm
> >>
> >> WTF! Night is every Thursday 5-9pm. It is a volunteer mechanics night
> >> exclusively for Women and people who are Transgendered or Gender
> >> Non-Conforming.
> >>
> >> ?El socialismo puede llegar solo en la bicicleta."
> >>
> >> "Socialism can only arrive by bicycle."
> >>
> >> -Jos? Antonio Viera Gallo, Assistant Secretary of Justice in the
> >> government of Salvador Allende
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ____________________________________
> >>
> >> The ThinkTank mailing List
> >>
> >> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.
> >> org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > <
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_ source=link&utm_campaign=sig- email&utm_content=webmail&utm_ term=icon
> >
> > Virus-free.
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> > <
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_ source=link&utm_campaign=sig- email&utm_content=webmail&utm_ term=link
> >
> > <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
> >
> > ____________________________________
> >
> > The ThinkTank mailing List
> >
> > Unsubscribe from this list here:
> >
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2018 08:36:55 -0400
From: Cycle-Re-Cycle <cycle.re.cycle.swm@gmail.com>
To: The Think Tank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org >
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away
bikes
Message-ID:
<CAEtiuU+Gos60cE=G4TfrVKKvB6FL4e30Txi8e6U3eaf-X_7aHg@mail. >gmail.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
At CycleReCycle( https://www.cycle-re-cycle-swm.org/ ) we have a policy of
not giving away bikes free to anyone. People have to earn them.
Our L'EarnABike program geared primarily for young people 9 to 19 teaches
basic bike mechanics, maintenance, and repair, and safe street riding. It
is often the first vocational type training many of these young people have
ever had. Many have no experience using tools, the correct tool or using it
properly.. Importantly by design the program also teaches a number of
social skills along the way. These include how to ask for and give help,
how to have a polite conversation with someone perhaps from a different
culture or ethnicity, looking someone in the eye and addressing them by
name, how to show up on time as scheduled, how to dress and behave in a
work environment . We don't put up with foul language and have a strict
anti-bullying policy. We give quite a few 1st job referrals to young grads.
One thing we see is when a group of kids on bikes come together to our shop
the ones who have been through our program have far better maintained bikes
even though they have no more money than the others. They've learned how to
take care of them . They are also the ones who will put their bike in a
rack or stand it up against something and lock it. The others tend to jump
off and leave them crashed wherever they fall.
We've also worked through a local prisoner recovery program with some
people just getting out of prison. They typically are living in a shelter,
have no $, no job, and need transportation to look for work and begin to
get their life in order. For their program we generally guide them in
picking out a bike to meet their needs from our inventory of donated bikes.
They totally disassemble that bike into a pile of parts, then reassemble
and adjust everything. We work closely with probation officers and have
given out 1st job referrals.
We find that getting bikes to people who need them in this way is far more
effective long term than just giving out a free bike.
CycleReCycle
On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 11:13 AM, Sylvie Baele <sylvgrb@gmail.com> wrote:
> Alright friends, I am reaching out for some resources.. I have a meeting
> soon with a guy who has an organization which gives away bikes. "Second
> Chance Bikes"
>
> Now, I don't disagree with giving people bikes... but I think the bike
> collective model (like earn-a-bike) is more empowering and sustainable
> long-term. And of course encourages safer riding, all while building
> community...
>
> Got any resources (or data) that can help support my/our position? I am a
> bit nervous as my meeting is with an older white male and I'm a younger
> female. He's already mansplained me once before.
>
> Bikes!
>
>
> Sylvie Baele
>
> *"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends
> more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those
> events themselves." - Alexander von Humbolt*
>
> ____________________________________
>
> The ThinkTank mailing List
>
> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.
> org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>
>
>
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2018 09:48:53 -0700
From: Bike Talk <livebiketalk@gmail.com>
To: The Think Tank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org >
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collective VS. Simply giving away
bikes
Message-ID:
<CAGmcEz3arFKcrLh04ePQzHtq0_O-1tyUsOJ45w92fZAh_09=zA@mail. gmail.com >
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I'd love to have this exact conversation on my podcast, bike talk. It's
streamed live, and participants can call in. I once tried suggesting this
here and was blasted for "mining" the list, but I don't really see the
harm. It's not like we have anything to do with money or fame. And, I'm
running a bike club at the middle school where I teach, where we give away
bikes at the end of the year, so I'm facing the same issue. When we just
gave away bikes the first year to some students who didn't really work on
them, for example, we never saw them again. I'm hoping for a different
result for next year, since last year's club did at least some work to earn
the bikes.
On a related note, I need a good bike curriculum.
Friday, July 13th, 6-8pm PST is the next Bike Talk recording, if anyone's
interested in weighing in on this topic.
On Wed, Jul 4, 2018 at 5:36 AM, Cycle-Re-Cycle <cycle.re.cycle.swm@gmail.com
> wrote:
> At CycleReCycle( https://www.cycle-re-cycle-swm.org/ ) we have a policy of
> not giving away bikes free to anyone. People have to earn them.
> Our L'EarnABike program geared primarily for young people 9 to 19 teaches
> basic bike mechanics, maintenance, and repair, and safe street riding. It
> is often the first vocational type training many of these young people have
> ever had. Many have no experience using tools, the correct tool or using it
> properly.. Importantly by design the program also teaches a number of
> social skills along the way. These include how to ask for and give help,
> how to have a polite conversation with someone perhaps from a different
> culture or ethnicity, looking someone in the eye and addressing them by
> name, how to show up on time as scheduled, how to dress and behave in a
> work environment . We don't put up with foul language and have a strict
> anti-bullying policy. We give quite a few 1st job referrals to young grads.
> One thing we see is when a group of kids on bikes come together to our
> shop the ones who have been through our program have far better maintained
> bikes even though they have no more money than the others. They've learned
> how to take care of them . They are also the ones who will put their bike
> in a rack or stand it up against something and lock it. The others tend to
> jump off and leave them crashed wherever they fall.
> We've also worked through a local prisoner recovery program with some
> people just getting out of prison. They typically are living in a shelter,
> have no $, no job, and need transportation to look for work and begin to
> get their life in order. For their program we generally guide them in
> picking out a bike to meet their needs from our inventory of donated bikes.
> They totally disassemble that bike into a pile of parts, then reassemble
> and adjust everything. We work closely with probation officers and have
> given out 1st job referrals.
> We find that getting bikes to people who need them in this way is far more
> effective long term than just giving out a free bike.
>
> CycleReCycle
>
> On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 11:13 AM, Sylvie Baele <sylvgrb@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Alright friends, I am reaching out for some resources.. I have a meeting
>> soon with a guy who has an organization which gives away bikes. "Second
>> Chance Bikes"
>>
>> Now, I don't disagree with giving people bikes... but I think the bike
>> collective model (like earn-a-bike) is more empowering and sustainable
>> long-term. And of course encourages safer riding, all while building
>> community...
>>
>> Got any resources (or data) that can help support my/our position? I am
>> a bit nervous as my meeting is with an older white male and I'm a younger
>> female. He's already mansplained me once before.
>>
>> Bikes!
>>
>>
>> Sylvie Baele
>>
>> *"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends
>> more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those
>> events themselves." - Alexander von Humbolt*
>>
>> ____________________________________
>>
>> The ThinkTank mailing List
>>
>> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.o
>> rg/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>>
>>
>>
>
> ____________________________________
>
> The ThinkTank mailing List
>
> Unsubscribe from this list here: http://lists.bikecollectives.
> org/options.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>
>
>
--
Hear the Bike Talk! podcast at
http://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=biketalk . Website: biketalk.org.
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