at 2434 S Western Ave, Chicago , 60608
Working Bikes rescues discarded bicycles and gives them new life by redistributing them as tools of empowerment in local and global communities.
Working Bikes is a 501(c)3 organization that was started in 1999 by Lee Ravenscroft, Amy Little and a group of volunteers dedicated to recycling bikes, supporting bike culture, and helping international and local projects. Since its founding, Working Bikes has recovered tens of thousands of discarded and donated bicycles from Chicago and the Midwest, and has redistributed more than 45,000 of them worldwide. Countless bicycles are discarded or sit unused in basements or garages in the United States every year. But in a developing country, a bicycle can truly change the life of an individual, their family and their community. Bicycling is, of course, a form of transportation. But bicycles are also used for towing cargo, and even as a source of electricity through the creation of pedal-powered machines. In areas plagued by poverty, high levels of unemployment and lack of reliable, accessible transportation, a bicycle can help provide access to jobs, education, medical attention, and other resources. Working Bikes ships thousands of bicycles each year to our partners in countries throughout Latin America and Africa, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Uganda, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Ghana. Locally, Working Bikes donates to individuals and partner organizations here in Chicago, providing transportation to people in homeless transition, refugee resettlement, and youth empowerment programs.
www.culturainpilsen.com Cultura in Pilsen is a community space for creation, collaboration, education and performance.
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