repairs Archives - Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop

By Christy Cowley, Executive Director

Our mission to keep people and bikes moving is expanding way beyond our shop walls…

Last week we kicked off the first of several scheduled mobile bike repair outings for 2022. Thanks to the kind and generous Larson Legacy grant we can now bring our volunteer mechanics (along with a tool box and lots of bike parts) to the streets of Everett and perform minor bike repairs for free.

Not only is this service a great way for us to increase Sharing Wheel’s visibility, but it also enables us to reach a geographically wider and more diverse audience.

Want to meet our biking community members where they congregate and help fix their flat tires and worn brakes? We still need volunteers to sign up and staff these community pop-up events.

We have regularly scheduled repair clinics at First Baptist Church and Evergreen Library and (fingers crossed) soon to be set up at the downtown Everett Library and in the Casino Road neighborhood (South Everett).

Increasing access to bike repair services has been a long-time goal of Sharing Wheels. With the help of our talented volunteers and supportive community partners we can now temporarily ‘park’ ourselves on the streets of Everett and offer repair services in multiple neighborhoods.

By Kristin Kinnamon, Board President

Sharing Wheels would not have made it through the COVID challenges of 2020 without a doubling of support from our donors and supporters.

We still need your support. As we enter the winter months, our bike sales slow and our bank account drops. Our budget relies on one thing to maintain our free programs, staff and open shop: You.

You may already be a volunteer, a bike donor, or a customer. We hope you will be a financial donor as well. Give a little if that’s all your budget allows, or give more to help cover for people who can’t donate as much.

Our goal is raising $15,000 to keep people and bikes moving.

All donations made by Dec. 20 will be matched by our board and supporters, so your money goes twice as far.*

donate

How do your donations impact people’s lives? Bikes bring joy, get people places, develop skills, build community.

“I rode the bike everywhere and every single day, for appointments, groceries … I came home wet on rainy days, but the fun part – me and my kids love getting wet in rain.” –
Prapti, recipient of a bike and trailer through our Community Bikes program

$30 fixes a kids bike – we’re giving away 100+ kids bikes for the holidays
$50 covers minor repairs & parts to get someone back on the road
$100 gives a Community Bike, lock, lights and helmet to an adult in need
$150 sends our Mobile Repair Clinic out to fix bikes for free

We welcome gifts at all levels. The board has also set goals to get

30 gifts of $50
10 past donors to increase their gift to $100

Come by the shop anytime to see your gifts at work. Some of my favorite moments this past year have been watching our customers and clients help each other – like when the homeless guy helped a woman load her new bike in her car as his way of giving back for a free repair, or when amateur mechanics crowd around a bike trying to diagnose a problem.

Your support of Sharing Wheels makes these interactions possible. Thank you for keeping people and bikes moving.

*All gifts up to $7,500 will be matched by additional donations from our supporters. You may also work for a company that does corporate matching, such as Boeing, Microsoft or Salesforce.

See our 2020 Annual Report. Save the date for our Annual Meeting & Elections: Jan. 26 via Zoom.