Support bike/youth programs in North Minneapolis

Dear Friends of Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee, 

we hope this holiday season finds you feeling as grateful for the past year and as excited for the next as we are! Venture North programming continues to develop and to make a difference in North Minneapolis youth's lives. We have several developments to report to you:

• On Friday, October 26th, Venture North celebrated its first anniversary with the Compass of Hope Awards Dinner. Thanks to our donors' generous support, the event raised nearly $30,000, funds that will support youth programming, including Pedal Power, All About Bikes, and Earn-A-Bike. The celebration, held at the Science Museum of Minnesota, honored leaders who embody the hope of our community. Award recipients included Mayor R.T. Rybak; Richard Copeland of THOR Construction; Dr. Hui Hui Wang of the University of Minnesota STEM Education Center; Steve Flagg of Quality Bicycle Products; Marina Lyon of the Pohlad Family Foundation; and two alumni of All About Bikes bike mechanic apprentice training program, Darrow Jones and Lucas Herrera. Darrow is a college student and aspiring computer scientist, while Lucas is a college-bound high school senior and a devout jazz musician and drummer. As guests enjoyed a grand view of the Mississippi, we shared inspiring stories, celebrated community leadership, enjoyed great food, and rejoiced in the amazing things that have been happening at Venture North over the past year.
• Venture North has been able to hire 3 All About Bikes graduates, including: Shatarra, a graduate of the very first All About Bikes class, who will be helping in the coffee retail section of the shop; Lucas, a graduate of the latest All About Bikes class, who has started teaching Earn-A-Bike classes for children 9-14 on Saturdays; and his former classmate Darrow, who has been helping Venture North with outreach and event support and demonstrations. We are so proud of our graduates and thrilled to be able to involve them in bike shop operations!
• Additionally, Venture North has expanded its Earn-A-Bike programming to include adults. Earn-A-Bike programming for kids engages kids ages 9-14 in learning about basic bike maintenance. Kids participate by undergoing 12 hours of training and education and have an opportunity to work on donated bikes. At the end of the program, they keep their greatest learning tool--their bike--and are given a free helmet and lock to keep. The goal of the Earn-A-Bike class for adults is to increase transit options in the neighborhood while keeping bikes out of the landfill. Adults can volunteer to assist the bike shop in its administrative tasks. In return, they earn 12 hours of basic bike maintenance training and a donated bike on which to work and which to keep at the end of the class!
• The next All About Bikes class will begin on January 18, 2013. Please see our website for applications and application instructions. We hope to see you in the shop soon! 

Our important work does not exist in a vacuum. We are so grateful for your persistent support and can’t wait to see what 2013 holds for Venture North. With your support, we look forward to continuing to help shape the positive futures of our talented and deserving youth. Thank you for walking with us this year—from the bottom of our hearts.