Second Chance Bikes History
I am asked frequently enough how I
got
started doing this that I figure
it is
worth writing it down. Second Chance Bikes http://secondchancebikes.org was started in the Spring of 2017. I
retired in November, 2016 and immediately signed up as a volunteer
"Friendship Partner: with the World Relief refugee resettlement
agency at their their largest local
office, here in the western suburbs of Chicago. I was assigned to a
newly-arrived Nepalese family.
Somehow I learned that WR could get the
teens bicycles. The following Spring I pursued that. I got a referral
form from their caseworker to get them bicycles from Working Bikes, an
agency
in Chicago that refurbishes donated/salvaged bicycles. They sell the
good ones
and ship most to Africa, where they provide critical transportation. WB
ships
them by the containerload. They have a
program for providing free bikes to people in need - generally homeless
people
in the city, when referred by authorized agencies. So I got the
paperwork done,
waited a few weeks, got a message that they had bikes ready, and took
the boys to get them.
Meanwhile, I had noticed
bikes at the World Relief furniture storage facility and had asked the
donations coordinator what was the deal with them. He said they got
donations
of bikes along with the household goods and furnishings, but they were
rarely
in working order so they usually just put
them in the scrap metal bin along with defective lamps and other items
people
had "donated" to get a tax deduction for something they should have
thrown away. I've learned that happens a lot. But I love working on
bicycles,
been doing it since I was six, so I told him
"let me take a couple home and see what I can do with them."
So when
we went to Working Bikes to pick up the bikes for my two Nepalese
youths, I had
by that time gathered 4 or 5 in my garage to fix. When the WB folks
rolled out
two I saw my guys' faces fall (they had been admiring the $1000+
bikes in
the showroom for sale for $300-$400 and I guess expected a
lower-quality
version for them (as did I). I told them "hey, I've got a couple
mountain
bikes in my garage I can fix for you; we told WB
thanks but no thanks and headed home. So I got them rolling, fixed
several more
for WR, and, having seen WB's operation, decided I could mimic it on a
much
smaller scale.
I approached WR for funding for parts and accessories but their
501(c)(3) charter is
understandably strict on how they can spend money. They told me to
raise it
myself. So I named my operation, bought a domain name, built a website,
ordered
business cards and magnet signs for my truck. I arranged for people to
donate cash via Paypal, parts and accessories
via Amazon wish list. I started hearing from other agencies that had
needs for
bikes or bike repairs. I had occasion to take someone to an overnight
homeless
shelter in a local church and noticed a couple of bikes outside
in terrible condition. I offered to the
volunteer checking people in that I could fix the loose handlebars on
one
parked by his table; he called the owner over and she agreed for me to
do so.
One good allen wrench twist and she was ecstatic. I gave the volunteer
some of
my business cards and started getting
calls "hello, my name is ___; the guy at the shelter said you might be
able...". Then I started getting calls "so-and-so said you got him a
bike and might be able..." In 2019 I delivered 110 bikes, about half to
clients of the “preventing
homelessness”
organization, the rest to clients of several other organizations and
the
refugee agency clients. In 2020 it was slower due to COVID-19; I
delivered
about 50. Response from people donating bikes, accessories, and cash
has been
terrific. I stopped the cash donations via Paypal when tax law changed
and I
was going to be taxed on it. I set up a Zelle
account and
provide instructions on the website. I suppose I could use part of the
contributions to pay the tax but in reality I
spend
it all and a good bit more from my IRA and it annoyed me that
billionaires got
a tax cut and my 2-bit non profit activity would be taxed.