For almost a decade, a local program to redistribute bikes has been giving the word “recycling” some added meaning.
A volunteer, John French, started the Recycle Bicycle program in 2007 and since then, he has found new homes for hundreds of bicycles in Squamish by giving them to people who cannot afford to purchase one.
“The generosity of bike riders in Squamish ensured this program’s success,” he said.
Recently, French decided to step down because of other community commitments.
The Squamish Helping Hands Society and senior manager Rick McKinney are now grabbing onto the handlebars to take over the program. He said it seems natural for Helping Hands to take over the program.
“We’ve worked together in the past to get our guys bikes, so it seemed like a really good fit,” said McKinney.
To donate, people can continue to go through the Recycle Bicycle public group page on Facebook, even if a bike needs some work. Helping Hands is confident it can keep the program rolling along smoothly based on community response so far.
“It’s been pretty incredible, the response…. It looks like we’ll get lots of good bikes for people,” said McKinney.
The one area that the program hopes to move into now is providing people opportunities to learn bike repair and work on machines that need fixing to make them road-worthy. McKinney also sees this as a potential way to partner with bicycle shops on a venture that is good for people, the community and the environment.
“It’s so green. It seems like the direction to be going,” he said. “It seems like an easy one that every community should do.”
Recycle Bicycle is a great way to help people build skills and self-esteem, executive director Maureen Mackell said, adding that helping people get back on their feet is a important part of what Helping Hands does.
“These little projects, these little social enterprises really help in this regard,” she said.
Down the road, Helping Hands might even look at other related social enterprise ventures, such as providing a bike valet program for events in the Squamish community, according to McKinney.
Taking over the Recycle Bicycle program marks the second social enterprise venture for Helping Hands, having started the coffee cart at Brennan Park in the fall of 2015.
These examples show there are many ways to help out with Helping Hands, Mackell said, beyond the more familiar ones such as helping in the kitchen.
To donate a bike, people should go to the Recycle Bicycle Facebook page, call 604-815-4984, email [email protected], see squamishhelpinghands.ca, or drop bikes off at the society office at 37930 Third Ave.
