As told by Blase Bova, St. Vincent de Paul’s director of operations and development
“Shifting Gears” is a bike repair mentoring program we developed here at the Society for St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, Arizona. We believe it delivers a win / win / win … homeless people need transportation, we have donated bikes on hand in various conditions, and we have kids needing a place to spend after school time who also would love to have a bike of their own.
Truth be told, there’s another win in here. We also have adults who need some supervision experience to help build up their resumes for job searching, so they have opportunities to assist the program too.
The “Shifting Gears” program invites neighborhood kids to learn basic bike repair skills over six sessions. During the last session, kids get to fix a bike of their own and take it home. They’re very proud of their bikes at the end of the experience, and in the process they’ve also helped us repair adult bikes for homeless people in need.
We’re always on the lookout for clever ideas like this that let people have some fun or learn a new skill while helping others.
Got any new ideas in mind? We’d appreciate hearing from you in the comments section, or give us a call any time.
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What a wonderful program that exemplifies SVDP’s principal of retaining dignity, promoting self sufficiency and looking for new and innovative ways to contribute in society.