We are happy to pass along the news that Neighborhood Bike Works – a non-profit well known across the city for connecting education, kids and bikes – is having a grand opening celebration this Saturday, Oct. 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at their new Community Shop and Bike Education Hub at 3939 Lancaster Ave.

You can have a look at the new space and get some info on upcoming youth and adult programs while enjoying some refreshments and activities. There will also be a commemorative t-shirt screen printing so bring a t-shirt along.  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Bike Works.

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a nonprofit that offers bike education and recreation opportunities to West Philly youth, is seeking adult volunteers to help with their summer camp program. NBW’s Summer Cycling Day Camp, held from June 29 to August 21, offers youth ages 8 through 14 the opportunity to recondition and earn a bike, helmet, and lock in a two-week session. Youth complete our Earn-A-Bike curriculum, participate in fun outdoor activities, go on educational field trips, and learn about safe cycling, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.

If you enjoy working with youth and want to develop or improve your mechanics or riding skills, this is a great opportunity for you. No experience is necessary – just a willingness to learn and potentially get your hands dirty! The camp will be held at NBW’s headquarters at 40th and Locust Walk from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays.

If you’re interested please contact Nadav Carmel at nadav@neighborhoodbikeworks.org or 215-386-0316.

Neighborhood Bike Works is moving! (Photo from NBW Facebook page).

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a great neighborhood institution that has been providing bike education programs for youth and bike repair classes for adults for nearly two decades, has just announced its plans to open a new, larger hub and community shop in West Philly this Fall. The new site is located at two side-by-side storefront properties – at 3939 and 3943 Lancaster Avenue. It is one mile from NBW’s current headquarters in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on Locust Walk.

“By moving out of a basement space to a highly visible, street-level site, we hope more families will find us and get involved in our programs,” NBW Executive Director Erin DeCou said in a statement.

A larger space on Lancaster Ave will offer more flexibility and an opportunity for NBW to operate more than one class or event at a time. Located at the intersection of the Mantua, Belmont, and Powelton neighborhoods, the new headquarters will also allow NBW to be closer to more of the communities they serve.  Continue Reading

Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), a great local non-profit teaching youth how to bike safely and how to repair bikes, is offering two FREE entry level after-school programs starting next month. Anyone ages 8 – 18 can join these programs (see more details below). Also, check out NBW’s Summer Cycling Day Camp. Registration for Summer 2015 is not available yet, but you can email camp@neighborhoodbikeworks.org with questions. NBW’s West Philly shop is located at 3916 Locust Walk (behind St. Mary’s Episcopal Church).

Earn A Bike
March 3 – April 16, 2015
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Youth learn the basics of bike repair and maintenance, safe urban riding, and health and nutrition while refurbishing an abandoned bike. Program participants get to keep the bike that they refurbish in the course! For more information and to sign up, click here.  Continue Reading

Here’s some great news for a West Philly based nonprofit: Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), which offers educational and recreational programs and career-building opportunities for youth and adults in underserved areas, was awarded a $100,000 grant this week. Impact100 Philadelphia, an all volunteer women’s collective giving group that funds Philadelphia nonprofits, selected NBW as one of the $100,000 grant winners after they presented their cause on Monday during Impact100’s sixth annual meeting. In total, $328,000 was awarded to five area nonprofits on Monday.

Neighborhood Bike Works receiving a $100,000 check from Impact100. (Photo courtesy Impact100 Philly).

Thanks to the grant, NBW can now move forward with some of their big plans.

First, a new West Philly hub is planned, which would bring NBW’s two sites, in West and North Philly, together. With the help of the Impact100 grant, this vision will become a reality. The new single hub will enable NBW to expand its programming, strengthen relationships with community partners, increase its retail and instructional spaces, and reduce the overhead costs associated with maintaining two facilities.

NBW will also launch a new program, Freedom to Ride, that will bring their services to the heart of the neighborhoods. NBW staff will go to schools and community centers and involve 100 new middle and high school students in an intensive 10-week program. The students participating in the program will build their own bikes and then go on cycling field trips to explore natural areas, like Bartram’s Garden and Cobbs Creek.

Finally, NBW is planning to launch a series of outreach activities to get families and communities engaged in cycling. They’re planning to train and employ teens as assistant instructors and ride leaders. Teenagers employed by NBW will go to block parties and other community events and will talk to the public about safe riding skills and offer quick bike tune-ups.

For more information about Neighborhood Bike Works and their work, visit: http://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/.

Photo via neighborhoodbikeworks.org.

Neighborhood Bike Works, a wonderful local program that provides educational, recreational, and career-building opportunities for urban youth through bicycling, is inviting young West Philadelphians to join their Ride Club this September. Ride club is a new four-week free after-school program for youth ages 8-18. The club will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Neighborhood Bike Works location at 3916 Locust Walk and program participants will go on fun routes to explore this part of the city and will also get lessons in mechanics, health, and fitness.

All Ride Club participants should know how to ride a bike and must be able to ride 20 minutes without a break. Neighborhood Bike Works can provide youth with a bike and helmet to use during rides.

For more information and to download a registration form, visit: http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/programs/ride_club/