Volunteers refurbish 220 bicycles for children in need

Volunteer mechanics in Winnipeg have exceeded their goal of fixing up 150 bicycles for children in need as part of a 24-hour bicycle-building marathon.

Members of Winnipeg Repair Education and Cycling Hub (WRENCH) had been rebuilding children's bicycles from donated and salvaged bikes and parts since 6 p.m. on Saturday, as part of the Cycle of Giving marathon.

The volunteers refurbished a grand total of 220 bicycles — well above their target of 150 — as the marathon wound down at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, WRENCH board member Pat Krawec told CBC News.

"It's one of the most fantastic sights I have ever seen with my own eyes," Krawec said earlier in the afternoon, comparing the marathon action to Santa's workshop.

The like-new bicycles will be provided to various organizations that will give them to children who may otherwise not have their own bikes.

Krawec said WRENCH still needs monetary donations to buy locks and lights for the bicycles, as well as to support bicycle programs in the community.

Good people working for a good cause

Cycle of Giving — a 24-hour kids’ bike-building marathon and fundraiser — will help make the season brighter for Winnipeg kids in need

Uptown magazine
December 15, 2011
by Marlo Campbell

Local bike mechanics and other volunteers will be doing their best elf impersonations this weekend when they join forces to fix up salvaged and donated bicycles that will then be given, free of charge, to Winnipeg kids in need.

Cycle of Giving is a 24-hour kids’ bike-building marathon that begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, and runs until 6 p.m. the following day. Taking place at the Atomic Centre, a multi-purpose artist-run space located at 167 Logan Ave., the event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Winnipeg Repair, Education and Cycling Hub (aka the W.R.E.N.C.H.), a non-profit community bike shop that opened this past summer.

Operating out of the basement of the City of Winnipeg’s Animal Services building (1057 Logan Ave.), the W.R.E.N.C.H. offers open-shop drop-in sessions and runs free bicycle-repair and build-your-own-bike workshops — many of them geared towards youth who live in inner-city neighbourhoods and may not otherwise have the opportunity to own a bike of their own. It also supports the nine community bike shops already running throughout the city by training adult volunteers and managing the distribution of bikes that are recovered from the Brady Road Landfill’s diversion program.

The goal of the Cycle of Giving event is to build 150 bikes — 15 each for 10 local organizations that offer services for children. They include: the West Central Women’s Resource Centre, Rossbrook House, the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, Osborne House, N.E.E.D.S. Inc., the Nor ’West Co-op Community Health Centre, Art City, the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation and the Family Centre.

"Right now we have about 170 bikes that we’ve culled from the community bike shops and from the bike compound at Brady Landfill, but we will need at least 270 bikes to put out 150 good bikes," explains W.R.E.N.C.H. board member Pat Krawec, noting that not all bikes received can be refurbished; those beyond repair are stripped to their parts, which then are used to make other bikes roadworthy.

To accomplish their ambitious target, Cycle of Giving organizers are requesting donations of bicycles meant for children aged two to eight; the kind with eight-inch to 20-inch wheels. Bikes can be dropped off during shop hours at the W.R.E.N.C.H., the Bike Dump (631 Main St., behind the Red Road Lodge), or at the Atomic Centre on the day of the event.

Monetary donations are also being requested; they can be made at any Assinboine Credit Union or online at thewrench.ca. Krawec says the hope is to raise a minimum of $15,000, $5,000 of which will be used to purchase locks and lights that will be distributed to kids for free through community bike shops to help keep them safe at night and protect their new possessions from being stolen. The other $10,000 (hopefully) raised will be used to expand the W.R.E.N.C.H.’s programming into other Winnipeg communities.

Krawec says 27 "magic mechanics" have already signed up to participate in the event, including a couple that have pledged to work non-stop for the entire 24 hours. (Rest assured, however, that quality-control mechanics will be onsite to ensure the safety of all bikes built.)

"They are the heroes," Krawec says of the men and women who will be volunteering their time, adding that the event is also an opportunity for community bike shop mechanics from around Winnipeg to connect with each other and be recognized for the valuable work they do all year round.

"They are the athletes of this event. They are the people who, with their mad skills, are going to work around the clock to spread as much joy as humanly possible, so it’s a nice chance to also highlight these people’s skills and spirit."

Winnipeggers who want to join in the Cycle of Giving — including those who want to volunteer in a non-mechanical way — can sign up to participate and get more information at cog@thewrench.ca or by calling 296-3389.

Cycle of Giving - Making New Bikes From Old

CBC Radio One's Information Radio program on December 5: Interview with Pat Krawec (8 minute audio)