Witness this office meeting space turn into something different, a bit like Bruce Wayne鈥檚 Bat Cave: The wide boardroom table slides out of the way, the wall tapestries roll up to reveal pegboards filled with bicycle repair tools. Suddenly, a bike shop is born. But this isn鈥檛 just any bike shop. It鈥檚 a bike shop with a mission, as befits the people and their values who use the administrative space during the day.
You鈥檒l find this magical re-tooled space in the administrative offices of , a Harrisonburg thrift store whose proceeds support the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
The (L)earn-a-Bike program was founded this past year by a contingent of 91短视频 alumni and campus community members as an alternative means for juvenile offenders to serve court-appointed community service hours.
鈥�12, who co-founded the program with Gift & Thrift manager Deb King 鈥�77, describes its simple, but powerful premise: The teenagers鈥攎ost are middle- and high-school-aged鈥攁re given a used, donated bicycle. They then strip all tparts from its frame and put them in a basket. In two-hour increments over the next eight weeks, under the guidance of an instructor, the kids service the parts and rebuild the bicycle, which they are allowed to keep once they have completed the course.
Yes, it might seem simple, but in the steps of rebuilding a bicycle arise opportunities for challenge, frustration and collaboration 鈥� the process nurtures personal growth.
鈥淭he kids that come through our program are often those who haven鈥檛 found success in the traditional classroom setting,鈥� said Bailey.
He sees (L)earn-a-Bike as a safe space where participants can explore different kinds of learning, build self-confidence and experience the mentorship of positive role-modeling.
鈥淭his is a place where whoever comes can step into positivity,鈥� said Bailey.
And then there is the work itself. Tom Brenneman 鈥�92 was working as an early intervention officer with the Rockingham County courts when he began the conversation about a bicycle-related community service program based on his experience with similar programs, such as the Zuni Avenue Bike Club in Tucson, Arizona. Brenneman thinks there is a tremendous amount of healing to be found in such tangible, hands-on work.
The program is young; the first participant began coursework in May 2015 and graduated in June. With 22 teenagers already having completed the program since then, and plans of having engaged 40 youth by June 2016, the community impacts could be significant.
鈥淲renches, grease, gears and a spirit of welcome,鈥� Brenneman said when describing the program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for kids.鈥� [For those who aren鈥檛 familiar with this influential work of philosophy, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, published in 1974 by Robert M. Pirsig, explores, through a father-son trip on a temperamental motorcycle, the themes of work, values and the analytic/creative ways of thinking.)
Riding together
Gift & Thrift may not seem like the obvious place for a program like (L)earn-a-Bike to set up shop, but King, who oversees all the charitable operations housed in the Park View shopping center close to the 91短视频 campus, sees (L)earn-a-Bike slotting neatly into the non-profit鈥檚 mission. The thrift store has a long history of hosting聽young people and adults looking for a place to complete court-mandated volunteer hours.
鈥淲e had been having conversations among ourselves and with people in the community regarding how to better utilize what we have going here,鈥� said King. 鈥淲e know that we offer informal mentoring and training when volunteers come to work for us. But what would it look like if we were to formalize that experience, gear it toward a specific segment of the population, and focus on a tangible skill set, all the while offering a safe setting where healthy relationships are nurtured?鈥�
With that vision, (L)earn-a-Bike has partnered with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) through the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act (VJCCCA), a grant-funded program aimed at stemming the tide of youth falling into the juvenile detention system through a focus on community service- based sentencing. Celeste Williams, who oversees the VJCCCA in Harrisonburg, said the excitement about such programs is palpable.
鈥淜ids who went through this program reported having learned more about themselves, and felt more proud of themselves than those who filled more traditional community service roles,鈥� she said, adding that the potential for programs such as (L)earn-a-Bike is exponential. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need much money to start programs like this. We just need a few excited people.鈥�
91短视频 has been a source of several of those people. Bailey,聽 the office coordinator for the department, is an active cyclist and advisor to the 91短视频 . Eric Saner, husband of professor , serves as an instructor (community member Matt Hassman also instructs). The program鈥檚 advisory team is comprised of Bailey, King, Brenneman, student Matt Swartzendruber, Nathan Zook Barge 鈥�84, MA (conflict transformation) ’99, and professor of Bible and religion ’92.
Contributions helpful
The group continues to explore funding options. While (L)earn-a-Bike receives funding from the DJJ for each participant who completes the course, the amount remains inadequate to provide quality programming, so charitable contributions currently bridge the budgetary gap. , the Voluntary Gas Tax, and local individuals have thus far made donations. [Information about how to contribute is at the end of this article.]
Other non-monetary contributions have been just as valuable to the program鈥檚 success. Local business has donated a wide range of quality bike parts they weren鈥檛 able to sell through their EBay site. The City of Harrisonburg provided a grant to purchase tools, and will soon be delivering a donated barn.
鈥淪toring our inventory has been a problem,鈥� said Bailey, 鈥渟o we鈥檙e really looking forward to having space outside of our workshop.鈥�
The goal, Bailey notes, is to create a program that sustains itself through services provided the community鈥攍ike bicycle classes offered to the public. So eventually the best way to support (L)earn-a-Bike will be by enrolling in a class.
Pedaling forward
Bailey says the program is gaining traction in the community and local courts, with several teens who had stolen bicycles being appointed directly to (L)earn-a-Bike by the judge overseeing their cases. But he envisions the program as more than a place to fulfill community service requirements.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 be satisfied until we have a space that鈥檚 open to everyone,鈥� he said, citing an increasing interest and demand for affordable bicycles throughout the area.
King agrees. 鈥淲e see this program ultimately as a destination for getting people together to be a community together,鈥� she said. 鈥淏y leveraging the non-profit service model that Gift & Thrift provides, we hope to be able to meet tangible goods and service needs in a way that鈥檚 accessible to people on the margins.鈥�
For the moment, though, Bailey and King are focused on building a creative and compelling alternative for court-appointed volunteers, one in which the hard work of self-reflection and tangible reward of a job well-done go hand in hand. As Brenneman noted, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good start to restorative justice on two wheels.鈥�
To contribute
Contact Deb King at 540-746-8547, ext. 103, or mail checks made out to Gift & Thrift with 鈥�(L)earn a Bike program鈥� in the memo line.
Keep up the great work
P