-how do you delegate jobs to volunteers who don't know how to work on bikes? -what jobs do you have for that kind of volunteer (drop-in) to do?
Shop Recycling on both counts. One of the most impressive examples I have seen was at the Fort Collins Bike Co-op. At first I thought it was the biggest waste of time. Why focus the energy of so many volunteers on something that makes little to no money and could be done by "scrappers." Then the genius of it set in -- the FCBC was utilizing unskilled volunteers for something that required little to no training or explanation, a place where screw ups are 100% ok. Not to mention those volunteers are learning how to take bikes apart, and what tools do what -- so they are actually learning mechanics.
For the record, I still think taking metal to the recyclers is a waste of time, when steel and aluminum are a couple bucks a ton -- at best you break even on vehicle costs.
-is there a space separate from functioning Open Shop space where they work?
Our space doesn't have that physical division, so we have to divide DIY nights (open shop) from volunteering using scheduling. Volunteers (by appointment) during the day working on bikes -- at least until kids are out of school then it is mostly Youth EAB. At night we allow volunteers to come on the one condition that they ONLY help people to the best of their abilities -- no working on bikes, we need the stands.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org
The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
On Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 7:25 PM, Sarah Green sarah.is.green@gmail.com wrote:
this goes out to any organization who does work trade... ie, people can buy things in the shop in exchange for volunteering.
-how do you delegate jobs to volunteers who don't know how to work on bikes? -what jobs do you have for that kind of volunteer (drop-in) to do? -is there a space separate from functioning Open Shop space where they work?
We have thought about this idea as both a good way to compensate volunteers and also a good incentive to recruit volunteer hours, but we have found that the delegation of tasks, the increased volume in the shop, and the lack of bicycle related knowledge in volunteers has made this more work for us than it is worth. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcomed!
Sarah Urban Bike Project _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave@bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.o...