Our Youth programs are rooted in the belief that young people thrive when they are valued, when they value themselves, and when they feel a sense of belonging. They are designed to engage youth in technical bike repair instruction and riding opportunities, which open doors to healthy development, active lifestyles, civic engagement, social justice advocacy, and environmental stewardship. By participating in our programs, youth are eligible to receive community service hours.
Community Drop-Ins
Saturdays, 12 – 2PM
What are drop ins?
Participants meet in Classroom A at the Warehouse (3715 S Hudson St) and will practice their bike repair skills, earn community service hours, have access to our stands & tools to occasionally work on their own projects, and can engage in progressive opportunities to teach and mentor other youth. Come to learn new mechanic skills, practice old skills, work towards earning a bike or parts for a bike, or just say what’s up and hangout! As in our Earn-A-Bike program, youth are rewarded for their hard work by earning bikes and parts as they log more hours.
Earn-A-Bike Programs
Earn-a-Bike (EAB) is an 8-week after-school program where young people learn how to fix bikes slotted for our bike giveaway program, earn community service hours, and ultimately Earn-a-Bike! In addition to working on donated bike projects, youth can pick out and fix up a bike to keep, or earn cool bike parts and accessories!
Bike Works Earn-A-Bike programs are supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov
Riding Programs
If you are a student at Chief Sealth, Cleveland, Rainier Beach, Franklin or South Shore, join us for an after school bike club! To sign up, look for flyers around school or email us at YP@bikeworks.org
Do you love riding your bike? Do you want to learn how to ride a bike? Are you new to biking and mechanic skills and want to explore more? Join us for one of our ride programs!
We offer programs throughout the year at our Warehouse location and run weekly afterschool programs in various South Seattle schools:
- Mondays: Chief Sealth High School
- Tuesdays: Rainier Beach High Schools
- Wednesdays: South Shore K-8
- Saturdays: Bike Works Warehouse (depends on the time of year)
Bike Works Riding programs are supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov
volunteer at Bike Works
We are looking for volunteers (ages 18+) to assist our Bike Works Youth Programs Staff. To volunteer for Bike Works’ Youth Programs, complete an application and attend our Youth Programs Volunteer Orientation. See below for the variety of volunteer opportunities available with the Youth Programs Team.
Ride Bikes with Youth
Volunteers who have a passion for riding bikes, traffic safety and sharing joy is a must-have. Prior experience working with youth is greatly appreciated.
Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays: Middle & High School Programs
Volunteers assist our Bike Works Ride Leaders during group rides and while teaching road riding skills around the South Seattle area. This may include teaching youth how to ride a bike and supporting youth with disabilities in an adaptative cycling opportunity. We have afterschool programs at South Shore, Rainier Beach, Chief Sealth and are looking for volunteers who are able to dedicate 2-3 hours per week with the capacity to stay through the programming season (about 10 weeks) and/or the full school year.
Saturdays: Distance Series
This is a more intense road riding program in the Spring and the ideal volunteer would feel comfortable supporting youth bike rides from 20-100 miles in length. Volunteers will assist Bike Works staff in teaching long distance and safety skills to middle and high school age youth as they sharpen their endurance, team building and road riding skills.
Bike Maintenance Skills
- Maintenance of Bike Fleet
- Assist in conducting safety checks and routine maintenance.
- Earn-A-Bike Program
- Support youth learning bike maintenance skills by helping them overhaul a bike. At the end of the program, youth earn the bike they worked on.
- Bike Maintenance Drop-in Program
- Support youth developing bike maintenance and repair skills for a few hours on Saturdays
Commitment needs are dependent upon type and duration of program and fleet needs, which could include one-off, weekly, or daily.
Bikes For All Events
Volunteers help organize and distribute bikes to the community and facilitate a bike rodeo for youth to practice with their newly acquired wheels. These are full day events and occur about 4 or 5 times a year.
Administrative Tasks
Volunteers help with data input from registration or other administrative tasks.