In this newsletter...

1. Music coming up! 9/18-9/20
2. ​Container Heading to Durango​
3. ​Cycle of Power Updates​
4. ​Volunteer Party ​
5. ​Anniversary Party - 10/3​
6. ​Garfield Park Ride - 10/10

Happy September volunteers! We are exiting our busiest season, Cycle of Power donations are winding down and we are prepping for our Anniversary Party! If you were at our last Volunteer Social you will know that we are looking for volunteers to help at the big event. Each shift is an hour and forty-five minutes, and though all member volunteers get a free ticket to the party (let us know if you need the code), the all-stars who also volunteer to help at the party are ensured entrance to Valhalla and will reap bountiful karmic rewards. You can email us at volunteer@workingbikes.org for more information. We also have a couple more volunteer slots available for RIOT FEST BIKE PARKING, particularly on Friday afternoon from 5-7, you can reach out to trevor@workingbikes.org if you are interested.

There are a lot of new things happening in the shop, including a new GUIDED OPEN SHOP on Tuesdays from 5-8pm. Each week there will also be a skill demonstration by one of our staff members from 6:30-7pm, you can sign up for the session on POINT here. In the building we have some new walls courtesy of Luna and Finn, and Brandon’s got a bit of a facelift thanks to board member Ed! Our new entrance is just days away from being open for use and first floor rearranging continues apace.

We have also welcomed our new Bicycle Acquisitions Specialist, Thalia! We are very excited to have her on board, be sure to give her a warm welcome if you see her on the road.

Starting September 30th we will be loading a container heading to our friends Derechos Humanos en Acción Asociación Durango (DHAD)! We'll get an early start that day so we can capture the loading on the CBS "Jumpstart" morning show, which will be on-site from 6 AM - 10 AM that morning. You can watch the segment online on their website.

The CBS folks will be filming in a few different locations around the warehouse, and all the activity we can muster at that early hour will make for a great segment. We'll start loading the container (likely a 26 ft truck, details still pending) Yesenia sends over to WB at 7 AM with a mix of MTBs, kiddie bikes, and basement bikes. We'll send our usual email blast to the WB Shipping Partiers (let us know if you're not included in that google group and would like to be) but please mark your calendars now if you might be up for an early start on the morning of September 30th!

Cycle of Power Updates

We have had a very busy summer for local donations, and we want to give a huge thank you to you all for all the wrenching that made so many donations possible. We have fixed and donated almost 700 bikes locally this year so far, all fixed up by WB volunteers in Brandon's Bike Shop (well, almost all, thank you also to you home-wrenchers)! We have been a part of some high energy huge-smile-filled bike giveaways with Chicago Help Initiative (52), Open Books (50), Think Outside Da Block (100) and Bike out Negativity (50) to get lots of bikes out to folks who need them all at once. We are proud to support these amazing partner organizations and add excitement to their events while getting folks rolling with reliable transportation.

But most of the bikes volunteers turn out of Brandon's continue to go to the Cycle of Power (CofP) referral program, where case workers, health professionals, social service providers, and refugee advocates submit referrals for individuals, one at a time, who need a bike for primary transportation but couldn't afford it on their own. Those CofP recipients receive a bike, lock, helmet, set of lights, and receive a year of service support from our Service Department and the Power Wrenchers. Our referring partners amazed and deeply appreciative that this program exists, with no barrier to access for their organizations or the folks they're working with, and the referrals keep coming! We have a 6 week or so backlog right now (meaning a referral that came in 7 weeks ago could be rolling this week) and are heading out of the high-referral season. Thank you all for making this service to Chicagoans in need possible!

This past Tuesday we were back at it with volunteer friendship joy! About 17 volunteers got together to hang out and decorate aprons that are now available for your wearing pleasure here at Brandon's. Shout out the powerful family trio RJ, Keely, and Yuna that fed us lavishly with delicious sliders and brownies! We will continue to hold volunteer socials every second Tuesday of the month from 5:30-7:30 PM (the next one will be Halloween themed 🎃) please join us!

Have an idea for a Volunteer Social? Let us know by emailing volunteer@workingbikes.org. Our work relies on the generosity of our volunteers, and we want to make sure you are appreciated.

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Just a couple more weeks until our 27th Anniversary Celebration! We are over halfway to our fundraising goal, thank you everyone who has contributed. We are also looking for volunteers at the event to check people in, run tours, bartend and more! Each shift is an hour and forty-five minutes, and though all member volunteers get a free ticket to the party (let us know if you need the code), the all-stars who also volunteer to help at the party are guaranteed entry to Valhalla and will reap bountiful karmic rewards. You can email us at ​volunteer@workingbikes.org​ for more information.

This is our only fundraiser of the year and it helps make all our work, from single local donations to shipping containers full of bikes across the world, possible. If you are interested in sponsoring you can find our sponsorship packet here or visit our Givebutter page here.