We all know volunteers are the foundation of Sharing Wheels’ mission of Keeping People and Bikes Moving. We simply couldn’t accomplish our goals without our volunteers. What you may not know is that we no longer have our volunteers simply cleaning and wrenching bikes.
Volunteer roles have expanded to include Customer Service Representative, Bike Maintenance Instructor, New Volunteer Mentor, and Newsletter CoEditor.
This year 73 volunteers donated 1600 hours of service to our organization and 4 Super Volunteers have donated more than 200 hours each.
Sharing Wheels loves to recognize the efforts of volunteers and for many years offered shop discounts and wholesaler special order pricing. Now, we would like to expand our volunteer rewards program and offer additional incentives to show our continued appreciation. These include:
10 hours/month allows you to make special orders through our wholesaler at cost plus 20%
3 bike work parties earns you $20 credit on anything at the shop.
15 hours you receive a 50% discount off any Sharing Wheels bike maintenance class, plus NEW free classes just for volunteers to build skills.
50 hours, you earn a Sharing Wheels soft and comfy t-shirt.
60 hours, you will receive a 50% discount off any used parts or bike in the shop.
200 hours, you earn a bike multitool
500 hours, you earn a Sharing Wheels fleece vest.
We are always looking to grow our volunteer base so we can continue to provide such an important resource to Snohomish County. If you’d like to get started volunteering with Sharing Wheels, email me.
Fix Kids Bikes – with friends or at home
Speaking of Volunteers – the holidays are just around the corner and we could use lots of help getting 50+ kid bikes in tip-top shape for the low-income families in our community. Work parties are scheduled 5:30-8:30pm every Tuesday and Thursday in October and November. To comply with the public health guidelines, work parties will be limited to 5 volunteers and masks are required.
Reserve your spot and meet new friends, or request your own private work party with friends and/or family!
Prefer to avoid the ‘party’ and work on bikes in your own garage? Not a problem, just contact Alain at the shop and he will get you set up to take a bike (or two) home for repair.
Do you care about sustainable transportation, serving diverse people in need, and making a difference in your community? Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop is seeking volunteers for our nonprofit board of directors. For the past few years, Sharing Wheels has been in a period of change and growth. To help guide our nonprofit into the future, one of our greatest needs right now is having a mission-focused board that can strategize and prioritize, with members who will ask important questions, help find answers, and reach out into the community. The board meets the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Elections to 1-year terms are held in January at our annual meeting. Board appointments to fill vacancies or expand the board (up to 9 members) can happen anytime. Right now, we are hoping to appoint some new members willing to serve through at least the end of next year (December 2021). The Board Responsibilities (PDF) document describes the basic expectations of our board, along with links to background documents such as our Nonprofit Articles of Incorporation, Annual Report, Budget, and Board Member Agreement. After you’ve reviewed some of our board expectations, I would be happy to answer any questions via email, phone, Zoom or by meeting at the shop.
We seek Board members who bring a diversity of age, race, cultural background, economic background, and experience, such as:
Scott Schmitz delivers bikes to Christmas House last year.
By Kristin Kinnamon, Board President
On Aug. 27 Executive Director Christy Cowley shared this message with our board: “It is with deep sadness that I write to each of you this morning to let you know that our friend and fellow board member, Scott Schmitz, has passed away. “
Scott was an extremely dedicated volunteer for Sharing Wheels. At age 29, he was our youngest board member by far, and brought that youthful energy and ideas matched with great intelligence and wisdom.
The son of Everett residents Nick and Debbie Schmitz, he brought 8 years industry experience working for companies like Gregg’s Cycles, B&L Bicycles and Specialized Bicycle Components. He had a strong appreciation for all things mechanical and studied mechanical engineering at Washington State University. He loved living and mountain biking in Bellingham, WA, but spent much of the past year living and traveling around the West in a van he customized for that purpose. Even so, he never missed a board meeting and remained engaged in envisioning a bright future for Sharing Wheels.
Scott cared a lot about Sharing Wheels as an organization because he loved bikes. But he also cared because he saw – and knew in his own life – how important our community space can be for people who need comfort, a sense of competence, something to hold onto that is real (a bike) but that also represents freedom and the feelings you can exorcise while riding a bicycle.
Scott served as our Shop Operations Chair, and worked diligently to develop tools and systems to help both board and staff manage the bike shop. He planned and led our major shop clean-up and reorganization that started last fall and was completed in early 2020. The way the shop works now – better set up for everyone we serve – is to his credit.
Scott wrote several grant applications for us. In 2018 we got $6,500 from the Nysether Family Foundation for organizational development work thanks to his eloquent description of what we do, who we serve and why it matters:
“As the only non-profit bike shop in Snohomish County, we at Sharing Wheels believe bicycles are the fundamental link in the cogs which drive our everyday life. .. Just as bikes are more than just children’s toys, Sharing Wheels is more than just a bike shop. Bicycles serve a diverse purpose for people of all ages; offering freedom from disabling conditions, opportunity for self-reliance, and the ability to connect with and grow respect for our environment. One visit to the shop and it’s easy to see how fundamental our services are to not just the community but, specifically, the underrepresented population.”
His brother made a sketch that illustrates Scott’s free spirit, which we plan to frame and post in the shop in Scott’s memory – and to inspire the many adventures possible by bike. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the sketch, the family will donate all proceeds to Sharing Wheels. Look for more information about this in our September newsletter (you can “Join Our Email List” at the bottom of this page).
Like so many small businesses and nonprofits, our finances were looking a bit shaky early this spring. The shop was closed for three weeks as we considered how to safely operate in COVID times. Even when the shop reopened, COVID had canceled classes and events like the Kids Bike Swap. Our bank account dropped $12,000 as expenses exceeded revenue. The Sharing Wheels Board took a deep breath.
That’s when many of you stepped up to GiveBIG. Thanks to matching contributions and 40 donors who gave from $20 to $1,000, we raised $8,511 during the statewide campaign. Another $2,200 came in the month following GiveBIG.
Your support bought helmets and new bike parts for our Kids Bike Giveaway program (see related article). It lets us loan tools for free to low income customers. We’re restarting classes – smaller for COVID reasons – without having to worry about the “break-even” point.
Even though bike shops have been considered “essential businesses” by the state and allowed to remain open (because bikes are transportation, not just toys), it’s been a difficult time. Knowing that you, too, think our work is essential has been a big boost – not just to the bank account, but also to our spirits.
Our board is fully committed to our mission – using bikes as vehicles for empowerment, affordability, sustainability and education. Thank you so much for supporting that vision.
Keeping people and bikes moving is what we do, and WOW we certainly have done it well this past month! As most everyone has noticed, there is no shortage of new and returning cyclists on our roads and trails. It is wonderful to see so many people enjoying their bikes for transportation and recreational activities. In May and June we saw record sales numbers with 81 bikes sold at an average price of $183 — keeping true to our mission of offering affordable bikes for everyone.
The Sharing Wheels staff/volunteers are having a great time helping people get introduced and/or reacquainted with the sport of cycling. Any idea what the best part of having all these new cyclists in our area could be? Most of them likely drive cars and may now have a newfound respect for the challenge and courage it sometimes takes to ride a bike on a shared road. When drivers become cyclists, it makes it safer for all of us to coexist. Perhaps less road rage? I’m hopeful.
Though our supply of bikes is shrinking, we still have many in our inventory and plenty of parts and gear to keep bikes rolling. Trying to keep up with demand has been a challenge, so PLEASE, think of Sharing Wheels if you have an adult bike in good condition that is not in use. Your donation helps us build a biking community, provide education and deliver the programs that benefit our low- and no-income residents. We are accepting donations of lightly-used, good quality bikes during shop open hours – if you’re not sure your bike is good enough for a new owner, email us a photo first. Keep riding and sharing the road with a smile on your face. Even if that smile is hidden behind a mask, it can still brighten someone’s day.
Even though our doors were closed to customers and all in-shop volunteer activity came to a screeching halt, it still seems to me that April came and went in a blink. Here we are in May already with the flowers in bloom and the sun shining bright – a perfect time for all of us to get out on our bikes! And is it just me, or are there many, many more people riding bikes these days?
Unfortunately, we had to cancel this year’s Kid Bike Swap, but instead we will work directly with local organizations that serve low income families to help us distribute kid bikes. On April 17th our storage room was full of used kid bikes piled in an organized (sort of) heap ready for cleaning and repairs. Every bike was pulled out, cataloged, and inventoried into our database. A “call for help” was made and our loyal volunteers immediately adapted to the change and carved out a mini Sharing Wheels shop space at home and got to work repairing all 50 bikes! We had 9 volunteers donate 95 hours of their time to Sharing Wheels in April. It’s the sweat labor and commitment to our organization that our volunteers give every day that makes Sharing Wheels such a special place in our community.
As an essential business, we are open to customers (one at a time) and have tried our best to provide the necessary services to low and no income people who rely on their bikes as a primary means of transportation. We will continue this model of service until it is safe for everyone. Until then, enjoy the month of May and stay well.
Every day we see new families and neighbors out riding – biking is a great way to stay healthy and get around during this stressful time. We have more faith than ever in the value of Sharing Wheels programs and services (like teaching people to lube those squeaky chains!). During this COVID pandemic, bike shops are considered “essential business.” Unfortunately, we basically had to close to the public for the past month while we figured out the best ways to keep our small shop, staff, customers, and volunteers safe. The good news is, the shop will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays again starting April 22 – with measures in place to maintain social distance and cleanliness. The bad news is we estimate lost revenue of $6,000 to $10,000 from COVID 19. This includes shop sales and reduced grant and in-kind donations, since local business and bike club supporters have had their own coronavirus impacts. We know many people and businesses are hurting during this time. But if you believe in our mission of “Keeping People and Bikes Moving” please consider donating to Sharing Wheels.
Executive Director: Volunteers make our wheels go round and round …
By Christy Cowley, Executive Director
Life has certainly gone sideways these past few weeks with the COVD-19 outbreak. Adjusting to our new norm has us all pausing and reflecting on our families, our friends, our health and our future.
At Sharing Wheels we are thinking a lot about how much our volunteers contribute to our organization. To date this year we’ve had 20 volunteers donate 460 hours, tracking well ahead of the same period last year. Eight of those 20 volunteers are brand new to Sharing Wheels!
In addition to refurbishing bikes, volunteers help us reorganize parts, price merchandise, remove trash and advise customers. We simply couldn’t exist without our volunteers!
Volunteering is limited due to social distance measures. Some regular volunteers are picking up bikes from the shop to repair at home. Others are helping to post bikes for sale online. Other jobs that can be done remotely include:
Data entry – such as keeping bike inventory updated
Graphic design – create posters and slides for our in-shop display
Marketing – help drum up customers.
If you’d like to learn more about volunteering now or in the future, contact me.
We are familiar with disruptions and have experience working through hiccups with limited resources. We also know from experience that expanding programs on stretched dollars works best when we all pull together. So please, stay well and when the at-home restrictions are lifted, stop by and consider joining the Sharing Wheels volunteer team.
Volunteer Profile: From books to bikes
Larry still likes to track and catalog things.
Larry likes bikes. He also likes the people he meets through Sharing Wheels. It’s a combination that has made the retired librarian an essential part of the shop since 2012. That’s the year Larry Williamson, of Edmonds, took a bike maintenance class from then-shop manager Kristi Knodell. He’s been a constant presence in the shop ever since.
Technically, Larry is a volunteer. A SUPER volunteer. He is in the shop three full days a week, every other week (when he and his wife Jean aren’t babysitting their grandson). He enjoys fellow volunteers, staff, and the diverse customers.
“People want simple things,” he says. Like the guy who came in recently with a wrecked rear wheel and no money. “We got him back on the road,” Larry says with understated pride.
Larry always steps in whenever there is something that needs to be done in the shop, no matter how unglamorous the duty. He takes out the trash, sorts the recycling, and counts the tubes and tires for the kids bike programs. He’s helped manage both the Kids Bike Swap and the Christmas House projects for many years. “Families are very appreciative,” of the bikes that volunteers fix, he says.
Beyond bikes, Larry has also served on the Sharing Wheels Board and as a member of the Shop Operations Committee. “Larry’s experience in the shop and as a manager made him very valuable in those policy-making roles,” said Sharing Wheels Board President Kristin Kinnamon. “But the biggest quality he brings is generosity – of time, money, and especially of spirit. Larry really cares about our staff and the people we serve.”
Larry’s bike(s): Larry has one Sharing Wheels bike so far, a Specialized he keeps as a backup to his Marin San Rafael. “I need more bikes,” he says, eyeing the latest lightweight road bike on the Sharing Wheels sales floor.
Favorite rides: 7 Hills of Kirkland. Unlike many people, Larry prefers going up, not down.
Family bikers: One of Larry’s three daughters Jan also enjoys biking. They have done the Seattle to Portland and Kitsap Color Classic rides together, and other rides. His wife Jean doesn’t bike much, but contributes some wonderful homemade food to fuel Sharing Wheels volunteers.
Volunteer time in 2020: 18 days in the shop and 79 total hours.
Impact: A home for the homeless
John is always learning new things in the shop. This day it was how to wrap a bike for shipping.
“When I was on the streets, this was a safe place I could come.”
John was a heroin addict back then, but staff saw he was more than that. “When I came to the shop, I was looked at as a cyclist, never as a bum. I appreciated that.”
After getting clean, John worked his 8 hours of court-ordered service at the shop to start the year. He’s been a volunteer on his own time ever since. “I kinda just knew I wanted to be part of this place,” he said. Biking is a healthy habit John wants to take into his sobriety.
He appreciates the chance to learn more about bikes as a volunteer. “I’m really good at riding bikes. I just don’t know how to fix them yet,” he said.
John’s not the first volunteer to come in off the streets. Sharing Wheels has always been a refuge for homeless and low income people. One year a man living in a nearby hotel on a voucher happily spent Thursday nights working on kids bikes for Christmas House rather than sitting in his room alone. It was a win-win situation.
Volunteer time in 2020: 8 days in the shop and 34 total hours.
Sally helps out at a homeless outreach event.
Sally lived in a tent when she first started coming to Sharing Wheels. She would come in frequently because parts of her cheap bike were always breaking – again. If she didn’t have the few bucks to pay for the part, she’d do some Work for Wheels* volunteer time to give back to the shop – and stay out of the cold for awhile.
She wrapped her bike in foil to make it look ugly, but it got stolen anyway. Finally, the shop manager got her a better quality bike that could stand up to daily riding. Sally has since gotten a folding bike (better for buses and apartments), and is able to fix it herself thanks to the bike maintenance class she took at Sharing Wheels. An outgoing and friendly person who now has a job and stable housing, Sally still volunteers at outreach events – happy to share the impact of Sharing Wheels.
*Work for Wheels allows people to trade volunteer time so they can purchase needed parts or a bicycle.
Annual Report for 2019
Sharing Wheels accomplished a lot last year:
Took in more than 300 donated bikes
Adopted a new mission statement and strategic goals
Had 50 volunteers give more than 1,800 hours in the shop
Our full Annual Report includes many more numbers, including a budget summary.
