By Marilu Thomas | Executive Director
Dear Friends of Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee,
On Wednesday, February 29, staff joined 5 bike mechanic interns from the Northside, ages 14-23, as they celebrated their successful completion of the very first All About Bikes training course. Over 16 weeks, the young mechanics involved in the program studied bicycle history; bicycle vocabulary, parts, and materials; and proper bicycle adjustment, eventually progressing to bicycle repair and bike building. Students also learned how to share their personal strengths to arrive at a common goal and gained customer service and relationship building skills.
With your help, we were previously able to purchase tools for individual work stations, where students worked on their final projects, which consisted of assessing used bikes, deciding what parts could be re-used, dismantling the bikes down to the frame, and rebuilding them from the ground up! These "First Class" red bikes will be used for various Venture North events. We are also thankful to the youth for leaving a legacy at Venture North.
Several of our graduates are currently participating in 12-week paid apprenticeships at The Hub Bicycle Co-op in South Minneapolis; they began their apprenticeships in mid-March. Congratulations to the students!
What's next for Venture North? In addition to running various summer programs educating youth and community about biking, we are preparing for the next round of young mechanic interns beginning in mid-June. You can find out more about our community events, programs, and services on our new website, http://venturenorthbwc.org/ , or on our facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/venturenorthbwc.
Thank you for young ongoing support and enthusiasm as we continue to help young leaders develop their strengths and their neighborhood!
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