St. Louis Bicycle Works featured in Post-Dispatch

The STL Jobs column in yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured Bicycle Works, a local organization that runs an earn-a-bike program where kids learn to build and fix bikes, and also the skills for safe riding:

BWorks will move in yet another direction next year, when its second employee inaugurates an outreach program to teach bike safety and fundamental repairs at area schools.

[Patrick] Van Der Tuin expects the program to increase the number of young people touched by the organization five-fold.

"Before, the kids had to come to us," said Van Der Tuin. "Now we can go to them."

Van Der Tuin didn't have much time this week to anticipate the arrival of a co-worker who may be able to take some of the edge off a job that is "more than full-time."

It is, after all, Christmas week.

For Bworks that translates into the delivery of dozens of almost-good-as-new bikes to charitable groups which, in turn, pass them along to the person charged with leaving such things under trees decorating living rooms this time of year.

 

Patrick Van Der Tuin and the volunteers at Bicycle Works have done a great job in building an amazing and effective organization. As the article mentions, their second employee, Tom Hill, will focus on outreach in bicycle education.

Bicycle Works logo
Bicycle Works logo

In 2010 BIcycle Works created an innovative program to work with federal prisoners, who help refurbish bicycles, and in September 2011 they moved to a new, larger location in Soulard.

If you'd like to find out more about Bicycle Works, the Bicycle Works Blog and the Bicycle Works Facebook page have updates and information about their activities.

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