Gearing up for the Future

was a success.

Thank you!

More than 200 guests joined Community Bike Works at the IronPigs' Coca-Cola Park in March for Gearing Up for the Future, our biggest event yet. We honored retiring founder Stefan Goslawski and celebrated our youth leaders. At stations around the room portraying student's journey through Bike Works, guests saw students' work and spoke with them about their experiences. In a brief program, current and former students described what Bike Works means to them.

With your support, Gearing Up raised a net $38,000 to benefit our youth leadership programs. These programs are designed to deepen a student's involvement in Community Bike Works beyond our flagship Earn a Bike program.

Funds raised will benefit our students directly in two immediate ways:

First, we will hire additional youth apprentices. Apprentices are Earn a Bike graduates who, having served as youth volunteers, hold their first jobs as Earn a Bike instructors.
Second, students will have the opportunity to participate in a new, year-long youth leadership program in which they will connect with local leaders, explore what leadership means, and develop a project that allows them to give back to Bike Works and their community.

We are excited to see the effect these and other life-changing opportunities will have on our students.

A few days after Gearing Up, Xavier, 11, told staff that he'd "like to rewind back to the gala. It was really fun and the food was delicious." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

We appreciate the support of our presenting sponsor, Air Products, and the role all of our supporters played in making Gearing Up for the Future a success. Thank you for being a part of the evening and part of the lives of the young people of Community Bike Works.

Sincerely,

Joan Schork, Committee Chair

Gearing Up for the Future

Kim Schaffer, Executive Director

Community Bike Works

Photo credits www.sashaphyars-burgess.com