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Community Bike Programs

Community Bike Programs come in many shapes and sizes.  Those that Thunderhead will assist through our networking project will all share these attributes:
  • Nonprofit status
  • A mission of bringing bicycling into the lives of those who otherwise would not or could not find a way to bicycle regularly and safety.
  • A storefront open to the public that offers a safe and productive environment for youth and adults to learn about bicycling and bicycle repair.
  • An organizational structure that includes an efficient means of accepting and storing donated bikes as well as tracking and thanking donors.
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Community Bike Program
Photo credit: Bikes Not Bombs

Thunderhead's Community Bike Program networking project is an important element of our Affordable Transportation for Affording Housing program.  We also see great potential in these programs for complimenting the efforts of Thunderhead member organizations.  There are nearly 200 programs around the country that may or may not meet Thunderhead's criteria (see: www.yben.net for a list).

The Thunderhead Alliance sees enormous potential in these programs for bringing bicycling into the lives of people positively affected by the advocacy efforts of our member organizations.  By offering our networking skills to these programs we hope to help them become more efficient and sustainable in their efforts.

Besides assisting in networking these programs, we will develop a replicable model that will seek out the best of the best of existing programs so that directors of these programs (as well as leaders of Thunderhead organizations wishing to assist their local programs) can avoid common mistakes and reach sustainability as quickly as possible.  Beyond our usual organizational development guidance, this replicable model will include a menu of detailed guides to the variety of elements these programs can include, such as:
  • Youth and adult bicycle repair training
  • Earn-a-bike programs (volunteers earn their own bike through accumulated hours)
  • Community furniture and art made from recycled bike parts
  • Other recycling programs
  • Bicycle safety education
  • Career and business management training
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If you would like to support or assist Thunderhead's Community Bike Program networking project and replicable model, please contact:

Dominic Liberatore, Interim Executive Director
Dominic "at" ThunderheadAlliance.org
(614) 204-4628

Please also see our supporter and sponsorship opportunities at:

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