The wheels are finally in motion at Gordon Bell High School’s new bike shop. It opened quietly in April, to the first group of students learning about bicycle mechanics.
Bike stands, tools and work benches now take the place of desks and electrical outlets in the former electronics lab. For now, there are 13 students working in the bike shop. Next fall the schools expect there to be 16 to 20 kids enrolled in the practical arts credit course.
“Some of our students don’t have their own bikes and they’ll have an opportunity to actually build one from the ground up, and strip them down and build them up component by component until they can ride them away.”
Samuel Jerema, one of the Vice Principal’s at Gordon Bell High School is thrilled to see the program get off the ground. He credits the WRENCH, a local non-profit organization that up-cycles discarded bikes and offers maintenance training, for providing direction in developing the school bike shop.
“They helped us with planning the space, purchasing and ordering the tools and most importantly they come in every week right now, instructing our students and staff on the basics of bike mechanics,” explains Jerema.
Similar bike shops have been set up in other Winnipeg schools as well, with the help of the WRENCH. It’s all part of the organization’s mission to create stronger, healthier communities by empowering people, with the skills to build, repair and maintain bicycles.
Pat Krawec is the Executive Director of WRENCH. He says last year alone over 2,000 bikes were distributed through their initiatives.
And there are many. WRENCH has several programs on the go. From earn-a-bike and build-a-bike programs for youth to community tune up stations and workshops offered at their home base at 1057 Logan Avenue.
Since the WRENCH first opened in 2010 its reach into the community has steadily grown. Krawec’s biggest sense of pride is their philosophy that their open to everyone.
“You’ll see people who are working with each other, learning from each other, having a chance to help each other. People who would otherwise might not have a chance to meet because they are on opposite sides of the city physically or opposite sides of the city in the social spectrum, you know.”
The space used by the WRENCH is chalk-full of bike parts and tools. There part of the challenge is squeezing in everything and everyone who comes to the WRENCH bike shop to volunteer and tinker.
More reclaimed bicycles keep coming in from regular visits to the landfill. The volunteers make about twenty trips a year. Even so, with Winnipeggers throwing so many bikes out, there are bicycles that get left behind.
By passing along the skills to fix up bikes the WRENCH hopes it will encourage less waste and lead to increased self-confidence among those who get involved — breaking down barriers on many levels and providing a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Krawec says he’s already noticed a change since their doors opened. “It’s a different city today than when we first opened the door. It’s because people of Winnipeg are taking this to heart and are spreading it around and helping people experience their community by bike.
Find out more about WRENCH programs and some of their upcoming fundraising events at their website.
Better Winnipeg is a weekly feature that focuses on people and events that make Winnipeg better. If you have suggestions for stories, send them to betterwinnipeg@globalnews.ca.
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