July 2026

We are in the dog days of summer, the heat is high but that is not slowing us down! In the past month we have packed up 2 containers for the partners to the south, one heading to Jamaica and another for CESTA in El Salvador; Bike Chicago reached 5k bikes donated to those in need; volunteers and staff gave out 50 bikes with the Chicago Help Initiative; the warehouse hosted several volunteer groups; and all the concrete was poured for our new entrance ramp! Entrance is still pending completion, we're just waiting on vestibule fabrication.

Our next General Meeting is next week on Wednesday August 5th starting at 6:30pm with a potluck and bike wash outside the shop and the meeting commencing at 7:00pm. We'll have Jerry from CDOT (above, right) in to talk Bike Chicago and our own Board President Dave Gorman talk about Bikes for Lesotho, the project he founded and continues to support to get bikes to people in Lesotho. You can check out the agenda here.

436 Bikes heading to Jamaica!

This container marks our first ever to Jamaica! Working through the Jamaican Tourism Board we were able to donate 436 bikes to help bring relief to the community after Hurricane Melissa and plant a seed to establish bike riding programs at local schools. We had cycling coach and former 3 time Olympian Peter Aldridge with us helping load up the container and advise on bike selection.

Most of the bikes we donated were “basement” bikes, bikes that are not as popular with our other international partners who are looking for mountain bikes and hybrids and/or do not have access to replacement tires those basement bikes need. In Jamaica, per Peter, the infrastructure is better than most of our other partners. The 27 x 1 1/4" tires on old school road bikes and 26 x 1 3/8" rubber on vintage cruisers will help people get their start road racing and run errands around their communities. We added some funky bikes to the mix - a tandem, a couple recumbents, a couple unicycles, an elliptical - to attract more attention to the project and, potentially, give tourists a new way to experience Jamaica.

While loading up the container we had the wonderful experience of receiving a bike donation and turning around and packing it up immediately! Casey bought this Schwinn 10 years ago from Working Bikes, and after many years of good use decided it was time for an upgrade. We are always happy when a donor is able to see the impact their donation is making, we'll look forward to seeing where this bike ends up in Jamaica!

Every year Working Bikes donates over 10,000 bicycles locally and internationally. This would not be possible without bringing in over 12,000 bikes to the warehouse, each one of them donated to us from our amazing community of supporters! We collect bikes from individuals, apartment buildings, municipalities, other non profits, drop off locations and pick-up events. It is a tough job getting all these bikes, and we are glad to have the staff and volunteers we do! Last year our Bicycle Acquisitions Specials, Charles, implemented our "Collection Crew", a group of volunteers from around Chicagoland (sometimes beyond) that help bring back bike donations from all over.

This month we received some donations that we are very excited about! A bike shop in Hobart, IN was closing its doors and donated their entire shop to Working Bikes. We received over $50k of parts, tools which will help us build up hundreds of bikes for local donation, fix up bikes in service, refurbish bikes for sale and offer affordable accessories on our salesfloor. HUGE thanks to Pamela and Joe from Trailblazers, and props to our Collection Crew (Tom and Tom) for bringing it back to WB!

We also want to thank collection partner Gears2You, who hosted a bike drive at their shop in downtown Brookfield last weekend and brought us 19 great bikes! Every bicycle counts, and we are so grateful to all the individuals who being in their bikes to our drop-off locations.

On July 24, Working Bikes partnered with P.E.R.R.O. (Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization) for a 7.5-mile community bike ride through Pilsen and Little Village. Nearly 50 riders filled the neighborhood streets, celebrating the joy of getting around by bike while connecting with neighbors along the way.

The group stopped at La Villita Park midway through the ride, where participants enjoyed free paletas and supported local vendors serving elotes and Venezuelan-style hot dogs.

Working Bikes was proud to support the event by providing cruiser bikes and offering mechanical support and ride marshaling throughout the route to help ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.

One of the highlights of the ride was seeing so many familiar faces. Many participants were regular Working Bikes patrons, and it was especially rewarding to see them out in the neighborhood enjoying the bicycles they ride every day. Watching our community use their bikes not just as transportation, but as a way to connect, explore, and have fun together, is a reminder of the impact that accessible bicycles can have.

For many riders, this was their first community bike ride—and by the end of the day, they were already asking when the next one would be!

Well, the good news is that they can roll with community again a few weeks from now, on August 15th, when Boxing Out Negativity hosts Street Love through North Lawndale and Little Village. And just a week after that, on August 23rd, we'll have the chance to roll on historic Route 66, celebrating the highway's centennial with all sorts of transportation, including a 50 bicycle donation to youth in the community with Open Books.

We'll have bikes on the streets even closer to our home base just a couple months from now when we close off 24th Place for our annual block party and fundraiser. Tickets are available for purchase for $40 on Givebutter now, last year we were able to exceed our $100,000 goal and raised $111,000! For our 27th year we will be trying to raise $102,700 to help keep us rolling and maybe break some donation records.

Interested in sponsoring Working Bikes?

You can find out more about monetary sponsorship here, and we love to receive donations for our raffle and silent auction. If you are interested in donating please reach out to us at info@workingbikes.org.

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