By Christy Cowley, Executive Director

At Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop we continue to support the most vulnerable people in the Pacific Northwest by providing affordable bikes and bike repair services to low/no income households. 

It’s May and the time of year for our annual GiveBIG campaign, so I’m reaching out to everyone asking for support. Families who rely on bicycles as their primary form of transportation rely on us to be open, staffed and stocked with free and affordable inventory to keep them rolling.

Donations help us meet these needs and we couldn’t provide any of our services without the generosity of all our donors.

After reviewing some of our major accomplishments from last year, please consider making a financial donation this month so we can continue to do good in our community.

Together, with my board of directors, we will match every dollar up to the first $3000 donated to help us meet our goal of $6000! 

Recap of 2020:

• 116 volunteers gave 2600 hours of service – many volunteers took bikes home to clean and repair while our shop was closed due to COVID.
• 350 adult bikes were salvaged/donated, repaired and ‘released’ back into the community.
• 194 kid bikes were repaired and then given to low income families in and around the Everett, WA area.
• 130 people (75% reported as “low income”) stopped in to use our free DIY space, tools and knowledge to fix their own bikes. 
• 12 formerly homeless/at risk individuals graduated from our Earn A Bike program; learning to perform minor bike repairs and earning a fully-equipped refurbished bike.

I post this request knowing that you each have your own causes you love and support. This organization may not be the primary place you want to put your charitable dollars. But I hope you will consider a gift – large or small – to show support for Sharing Wheels and our mission: Keeping people and bikes moving through empowerment, affordability, sustainability and education.

5 to 9 p.m. May 18

Cafe Zippy, 1502 Rucker Ave., Everett

Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop has hired our first-ever paid shop manager, Josh Pfister.

Josh has been a long-time volunteer with Sharing Wheels, and started working for us this summer as a bike mechanic.

He has worked at the Marysville Bike Shop and at Bicycle Centres in Everett. His preferred mode of transportation is an old Bridgestone set up as a singlespeed.

As shop manager, Josh will oversee daily shop operations, ensure quality repairs and outstanding customer service (he’s a very friendly guy), and work with the Board of Directors to promote our shop’s development and growth.

Thanks to a head start from volunteers during the United Way Day of Caring in September, Josh has been busy reorganizing the shop. Things look a lot different if you haven’t been by lately!

The job is part-time, but has allowed us to open the shop 4 days a week instead of just 3. Our Saturday hours are funded by a grant from the City of Everett.

Volunteers continue to be essential part of our nonprofit community bike shop. Stop by to meet Josh and see how you can help.

Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop is hiring our first-ever paid shop manager. Current volunteers and others who know their way around a bike shop are encouraged to apply.

Community Bike Shop Manager

Do you love bicycles – and helping people? Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop seeks a qualified and enthusiastic part-time bike shop manager. We are a hub for all things bike-related in Everett, WA, and seek someone who wants to be the center of that wheel.

The shop manager will oversee daily shop operations and finances, ensure outstanding customer service, manage and develop staff (1-2) and volunteers, coordinate annual kids bike programs, and work with the Board of Directors to promote our shop’s development and growth.

Your day will include fixing bicycles, helping volunteers and visitors fix bikes, selling used bikes and parts, and assessing repairs and donations. See the full job description here.

Sharing Wheels is an established nonprofit with a mission to “connect unused bikes to people who need wheels.”

Hours: The job is currently part-time, starting at 20 hours a week, including the need for weekend and evening availability. The exact schedule may be negotiable. The job is expected to grow with the right candidate.

Pay starts at $15 an hour, and may be increased based on experience.

Apply by emailing your resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references to Board President Brice Howard,c/o sharingwheels@gmail.com. Your cover letter should describe how you meet the qualifications in the job description.

Position open until filled. Next review of resumes will take place Aug. 15. We hope to have someone start soon to allow for a training period with our longtime volunteer shop manager.