Byline: Dani Brown, Director of Strategic Communication at RiverWise
Photo credit: Erin Ninehouser for RiverWise
Communicycle keeps things circular.
The nonprofit doesn’t just focus on
providing quality bicycles to children
— though that’s a significant part of
their mission. It’s more holistic and
all-encompassing than that.
Communicycle takes into consideration how they receive their parts, who fixes the bikes, who receives the bike and maintains its upkeep, and then how to dispose of its unusable parts.
It’s a picture of the three Es of sustainability — economy, equity, and environment —
and it’s an example of a circular economy where community is at the center.
By fixing up old bicycles rather than giving out brand new ones, Communicycle is saving
money for their organization and for residents who otherwise couldn’t afford a new
bicycle from a big-box store. The nonprofit properly recycles its scrap metal and saves
beat up bikes from ending up in the landfill.
And, Communicycle prioritizes social equity by not only providing bikes to those in need
but by purposefully seeking volunteers that society often overlooks.
It’s a metaphor for what a sustainable community looks like, and it all starts with a bike.
Communicycle partners with Gateway
Rehab and provides an opportunity for
those in active recovery to learn how to
fix bikes. Residents with developmental
and learning differences who are
enrolled in programming at the Beaver
County Rehabilitation Center, or BCRC,
can also visit Communicycle to help fix bikes.
Retirees, business people on their lunch break, church groups, and more also tinker with the bikes.
Communicycle provides a unique learning and empowerment platform that is accessible
to all. It welcomes individuals who need additional support or are going through tough
times. Simultaneously, it also opens doors for professionals who can volunteer with their
staff, as well as active retirees. Everyone is encouraged to roll up their sleeves and
contribute to a good cause through hands-on participation.
Everyone can learn how to fix a bike, Lee Montanari, executive director of
Communicycle, says. It’s about the people. Communicycle’s volunteers are an integral
part of its mission: to build relationships in the name of bike tinkering.
Unlikely helpers
Kyle was incredibly intimidated the first time he arrived at Communicycle.
“I’m not mechanically inclined at all,” he said.
Kyle is currently a client at Gateway Rehab, and is one of several folks in their program
who come weekly to work on bicycles.
“I like seeing something broken and then getting to fix it,” Kyle said. “It’s like recovery.”
“I leave here and I fixed something,” he added. “I did that.”
Once clients at Gateway reach a certain phase in their recovery, they have the
opportunity to complete community service for roughly 12-hours a week.
Kyle was excited for the chance to
give back to his community, and to
learn a new skill he can take with him
when he goes home.
“I wanted to learn how to (fix) bikes
because I went through four or five
bikes as a child,” he said. “I wanted to
learn something new. It’s a new skill I
can go and teach my kid.”
Jonathan Smith also really enjoys tinkering with bikes.
“I enjoy it more than anything else we do,” he said. He’s also at Gateway and was eager
for the opportunity to learn.
“Not a lot of people know how to fix bikes, so we learn a bit about how to do it and then
we start doing it,” Jonathan said.
Jonathan, Kyle, and others in the program visit Communicycle once a week to help out.
Each week looks a little different because every bike has a different need.
“Each bike’s a different animal,” Jonathan said. “We have a checklist over here that you
can run through. You start at the top and go to the bottom.”
Jonathan said safety is a priority, especially because many of the bikes go to kids.
“We just make sure that they’re safe and operational for anyone that might pick them
up. That includes safety checks and point checks for reflectors and brakes,” he added.
Jonathan never misses an opportunity to help out at Communicycle.
“I’ve moved up as fast as one possibly could within the program, so I’ve been out here
every single time I could come out. Barring an act of God or a storm or something like
that where we can’t come out, we’re here every week,” he said.
Service is a huge component of
recovery, Jonathan added.
“‘You really can’t keep what you have
without giving it away,’ is the old
adage,” he said. “So, the more you can
do that, get out of your own head, kind
of move out of yourself and towards
whatever that Northstar is, that Polaris,
that you are moving towards, then
absolutely. It gets you out of your head. You come here and think about not yourself. What am I doing to help other people in the community? That gets me out of my own head and out of my own addiction.”
Kyle feels similarly.
“It’s therapeutic. It gives me patience, and that’s something I don’t have,” he said. “And
it’s trial and error — it’s ok if it doesn’t work the first time. It’s a little tweaking here and
there to make everything right.”
It’s a metaphor for the human experience and for the value of community. Lee doesn’t
pass judgment on anyone who walks through Communicycle’s doors — from those in
recovery to those in need of a bike. Because it’s not about a person’s past or what got
them into their present situation.
“It’s about relationships,” Lee said.
Lee tries to create a space where people are seen and respected, and given an
opportunity to learn something new. And not just to learn a new skill — although that’s a
major benefit of Communicycle — but to learn something new about themselves and
their neighbors.
Communicycle meets people where they are and provides opportunities for all folks to
easily join in and give back to those who need a bike.
“The bike has always been the reason we get together,” Lee said. “But it’s about what
happens through it. I like that there’s stuff happening — there’s connections being made
— that I’ll never know about.”