Volunteering at The Bike Project is a great way to learn more about cycling and bike repair, as well as meet interesting people and give back to our community.
Mechanics
All it takes to become a volunteer is a willingness to learn and help others. While some of our volunteer mechanics start out with good background in bike repair, many of our volunteers have started knowing little more than how to change a flat tire (if that!). As a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to learn through an apprenticeship model: if you don’t know how to do a repair, you can learn by watching a more experienced volunteer. Before you know it, you will know how to make the basic procedures that make up the majority of our repairs.
Greeters/Register
Don’t want to wrench on bikes? We need people who can introduce visitors to our shop, show them bikes available for sale, and help with operating the sales register. No mechanical skills required, only a love for bikes!
Art & Design
We’re always looking for people with ideas on how to beautify the shop and/or create some cool signage, as well as graphic designers to help us with our print media. Email us at contact@thebikeproject.org if you want to get involved.
Shop Work Days and Special Events
We also have special work days to organize the shop, and have events each year that we’re involved with. If you can’t make a regular commitment, but want to help when it works with your schedule, keep an eye on our newsletter, Facebook, or Twitter to see what’s going on.
To Start Volunteering
If you want to start volunteering, and have not signed up with us we ask you fill out this form. It is not required, but it helps us organize volunteers and is a powerful tool for communication. You will also want to choose which location you want to volunteer at:
Downtown Urbana/IMC: To volunteer at the Urbana shop, you can just show up for the regular open hours shift of your choosing and tell the volunteer staff you are there to help. You can help with any of the roles listed above (or in any other way you think would be helpful!)
Campus Bicycle Center: To volunteer at the Campus Bicycle Center, show up during the regular open hours and talk to our shop manager, Jake, about the schedule and tasks that would be the ideal fit for that location.