Volunteers’ Week 2020
This week is Volunteers’ Week 2020, an annual celebration of the contribution that millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. For us, this seems like the perfect opportunity to shine the spotlight on our incredible volunteer team, and tell you a little bit more about the huge difference that they make.
Here at Bike for Good, we are fortunate to have a team of more than 60 dedicated volunteers, each of whom brings a unique set of skills and knowledge to the organisation. Some are able to give a few hours a month, some a few hours a week, and others a few days a week. But no matter how big or small the time contribution is, each and every person brings something valuable to us as an organisation.
When Bike for Good first began back in 2010 (originally as Glasgow Bike Shed), we occupied a small stall in Glasgow’s iconic ‘Barras’ market, and the team consisted of only a handful of volunteers, including our founder and now CEO Greg. These volunteers dedicated so much of their time to their beloved Bike Shed, helping hundreds of Glaswegians to begin or continue cycling, and learning many new skills along the way.
From these humble beginnings, the Bike Shed gradually grew and grew, moving to our Finnieston site in 2012 and eventually opening a second community hub in Govanhill in 2017. Throughout all of this, our volunteer team has grown and gone from strength to strength and has made it possible for us to operate as an organisation.
Our volunteers are involved in a huge variety of tasks with us daily. These include:
- Collecting donated bicycles
- Stripping and preparing bicycles to be built
- Assisting community groups with the delivery of led rides
- Helping to teach mechanics qualifications to school pupils
- Supporting people to upskill at our Fix Your Own Bike sessions
- Providing I.T. and accountancy knowledge and expertise, and so, so much more.
Fabian (R) started as a volunteer assisting us on Dr Bikes and is now a paid member of staff!
These services are so crucial, and we simply would not function without the help that our volunteers give us.
Last year alone, the volunteer team provided over 4000 hours of their time. Without this time contribution there is no way we that we could have:
- Refurbished and sold thousands of affordable, refurbished bikes, saving tonnes from landfill.
- Engaged hundreds of people in cycle training or learn to ride sessions, helping them to improve their health and wellbeing and giving them an affordable means of transport
- Engaged more than 150 young people in training and development opportunities, with 120 of these working towards formal qualifications
- Helped people to upskill and get back on the road via our Fix Your Own Bike service
We love our volunteers
Hopefully you will be starting to see why our volunteers are so dear to us. They are the cog that keeps us spinning, and an extremely cherished part of our big Bike for Good community.
Unfortunately, due to the current situation, we have not been able to have our volunteers in these last couple of months, and also won’t be able to celebrate Volunteer Week with our usual selection of activities.
This is why we are so keen to shout about their contributions this week, and will also be sharing a few posts highlighting the stories of a few of these individuals over the coming days. So please do keep your eyes peeled!
Some of our amazing volunteers enjoying a quiz on Zoom
To our wonderful volunteers, we are so grateful for all that you do, and can’t wait to have you all back in action soon!
Want to get involved?
Our volunteers range from 16 to over 70, and come from all backgrounds and walks of life. Everyone is welcome. If you want to know more about volunteering with us, please head to our volunteering page to find out more.
#VolunteersWeek