Building Bikes as Corporate Team Activity?
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sakehttp://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/ that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them away at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners. Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
I have personally been the official mechanic at these events - the company buys the bikes, the teams build, I inspect, and they gave the bikes directly to the kids from a Boy's and Girl's club.
Another major corp. has done similiar project, used LBS mechanics, gave the bikes away, and gave us the Park tools when it was over.
Ross Willard
Reccycle Bicycle Harrisburg 717-571-2008
I attached one of their emails below - this group reused their tools
Ross, Thank you for agreeing to help us out with the PepsiCo Bikes for Kids Charity Team Building Event. I have attached a letter containing all the information you need to know for this event. PepsiCo will be serving lunch at 11:30 so come hungry! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
Thank you!
Stephanie Neal
National Event Coordinator - Team Building USA, Inc.
(866) 351-8326 Main
(817) 505-5579
www.TeamBuildingUSA.com
Stephanie@TeamBuildingUSA.com
----- Original Message ----- From: Adonia Lugo To: The Think Tank Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 11:21 AM Subject: [TheThinkTank] Building Bikes as Corporate Team Activity?
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sake that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them away at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners. Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
-- Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
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Hello,
As part of The Electric City Bike Rescue in Schenectady NY it seems like a win win situation. If the research for community enhancement is done . Community bike rescues could use tools to further their mission and also could be a tool to locate programs or people who could use the bikes .
The key in my eyes is to connect to the local bike community to see how collaboration can occur working through preexisting community networks or help build them. This way the bikes are wanted and most appropriate for that community .
We (ECBR) are the recipient of corporate generosity for our home at the moment and the relationship is helping us both as we grow.
Thanks Clarence " Rennie" Fountain
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 11:21 AM, Adonia Lugo adonia.lugo@gmail.com wrote:
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sakehttp://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/ that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them away at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners. Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
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We find great success, longevity and community building when the kids are involved in building and tuning up the bikes, and even better when the parent(s) have a role too. They do this at our shop, and it gets them familiar with our community resource.
Maybe the corporate folks get be teamed with a kid/family?
-Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Adonia Lugo wrote:
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sakehttp://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/ that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them away at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners. Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
Hi, My experience with these offers is that corporations don't want to integrate their "goodness" into development work. Donating a bike built by adults to kids who are expected to earn a bike undermines the whole premise of the Recycle-A-Bicycle model.
If it were structured to create a job for teens in our program, then I would be much more enthusiastic about this. I know of one group that negotiated this type of arrangement. I would support and welcome this opportunity. However, the 2 corporations I spoke with were only interested in their staff building the bikes and paying a professional to supervise. Perhaps if it happened over the holidays and only small childrens' bikes were built, I could this as a community service project, and the donation of tools would be the incentive to participate. I still prefer to hold out for a development model.
Karen
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Bob Giordano mist@strans.org wrote:
We find great success, longevity and community building when the kids are involved in building and tuning up the bikes, and even better when the parent(s) have a role too. They do this at our shop, and it gets them familiar with our community resource.
Maybe the corporate folks get be teamed with a kid/family?
-Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Adonia Lugo wrote:
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sakehttp://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/ that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them
away
at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners. Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
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Hmm, I'm sympathetic to the critique but trying to shift my way of thinking into one that opens up to new possibilities. Thanks for all the input!
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 1:42 PM, Karen Overton <director@recycleabicycle.org
wrote:
Hi, My experience with these offers is that corporations don't want to integrate their "goodness" into development work. Donating a bike built by adults to kids who are expected to earn a bike undermines the whole premise of the Recycle-A-Bicycle model.
If it were structured to create a job for teens in our program, then I would be much more enthusiastic about this. I know of one group that negotiated this type of arrangement. I would support and welcome this opportunity. However, the 2 corporations I spoke with were only interested in their staff building the bikes and paying a professional to supervise. Perhaps if it happened over the holidays and only small childrens' bikes were built, I could this as a community service project, and the donation of tools would be the incentive to participate. I still prefer to hold out for a development model.
Karen
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Bob Giordano mist@strans.org wrote:
We find great success, longevity and community building when the kids are involved in building and tuning up the bikes, and even better when the parent(s) have a role too. They do this at our shop, and it gets them familiar with our community resource.
Maybe the corporate folks get be teamed with a kid/family?
-Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Adonia Lugo wrote:
Dear collectivistas, I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate
team
building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness Sakehttp://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/ that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them
away
at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups. Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this model because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea
of
paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be
a
more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as
partners.
Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for corporate team building. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
Thanks!
Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D. Bicycle Anthropologist www.urbanadonia.com
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Karen is correct and we should strive for that - but the intermediate steps can be beneficial while working toward the higher goal.
The immediate for us was: Adults were learning the mechanics of bikes ( that benefits their own families ) The team building experience built something real instead of some fake cardboard game that would be thrown away. The bikes went to younger disadvantaged kids who knew of our non profit shop and hence could come to us for future repairs - we sent literature home to be sure. The local warehouse of the corporation then turned around and did a used bike drive for our shop.
I would encourage more corporations nationwide to do the same as Karen says - hold out for more - but would add - accept what you can get and form a relationship for more later. I would also estimate that Karen has more expertise on dealing with corporations that anyone I know.
Ross Willard Recycle Bicycle Harrisburg, Pa 717-571-2008 ----- Original Message ----- From: Affordable Bikes Re-Cyclery To: The Think Tank Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 2:02 PM Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Building Bikes as Corporate Team Activity?
Hmm, I'm sympathetic to the critique but trying to shift my way of thinking into one that opens up to new possibilities. Thanks for all the input!
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 1:42 PM, Karen Overton director@recycleabicycle.org wrote:
Hi,
My experience with these offers is that corporations don't want to integrate their "goodness" into development work. Donating a bike built by adults to kids who are expected to earn a bike undermines the whole premise of the Recycle-A-Bicycle model.
If it were structured to create a job for teens in our program, then I would be much more enthusiastic about this. I know of one group that negotiated this type of arrangement. I would support and welcome this opportunity. However, the 2 corporations I spoke with were only interested in their staff building the bikes and paying a professional to supervise. Perhaps if it happened over the holidays and only small childrens' bikes were built, I could this as a community service project, and the donation of tools would be the incentive to participate. I still prefer to hold out for a development model.
Karen
On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Bob Giordano <mist@strans.org> wrote:
We find great success, longevity and community building when the kids are
involved in building and tuning up the bikes, and even better when the
parent(s) have a role too. They do this at our shop, and it gets them
familiar with our community resource.
Maybe the corporate folks get be teamed with a kid/family?
-Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula
Adonia Lugo wrote:
> Dear collectivistas,
> I'm looking for advice from folks who use bike repair as a community
> building tool. What do you think about building bikes as a corporate team
> building exercise? I work for the League of American Bicyclists, and
> someone pitched a project to us called Bikes for Goodness
> Sake<http://bikesforgoodnesssake.org/>
> that does this; they have teams build kids' bikes and then give them away
> at the end of the day. The dude doing this, Mark Smith, wants to partner
> with the League in some capacity to help hire a staff person who could
> coordinate these activities around the country, including hiring local
> mechanics to do quality control and connecting with local kids' groups.
> Does this seem weird to you? I told my boss I'd ask around about this
> model
> because something about it raises my hackles a little. I like the idea of
> paying local mechanics to participate, and it seems like there could be a
> more formal relationship with co-ops or community bike shops as partners.
> Then maybe participating in an activity like this could be an avenue for
> the corporate types to get involved with the bike community. At the same
> time, I'm wary of a model that frames needy kids as some tool for
> corporate
> team building.
> Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.
>
> Thanks!
> --
> Adonia E. Lugo, Ph.D.
> Bicycle Anthropologist
> www.urbanadonia.com
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participants (6)
-
Adonia Lugo -
Affordable Bikes Re-Cyclery -
Bob Giordano -
Clarence Fountain -
Karen Overton -
Ross Willard - Recycle Bicycle