The good weather marks the start of our joint WTB/After School Matters “Bike Safety and Repair” youth program!!
Already in its third week, the “Bike Safety & Repair” program features a curriculum for high school students with prior bicycle and mechanical experience to fine-tune skills and develop awareness of bicycle safety through continued education and training while serving as “interns” or “apprentices” at the WTB shop. This competitive ten-week long program boasts a 25% selection rate amongst qualified applicants, and currently has 20 handpicked students participating in the ten-week long course.
Interns in this program serve a minimum of ten hours per week in the WTB shop learning how to overhaul and refurbish bicycles and bicycle parts, while apprentices devote three days per week in the shop with a minimum of three hours each day. Through this program, both the interns and apprentices spend time at WTB acquiring and developing more advanced bike repair and mechanical proficiencies by learning new skills that can be shared and taught to each other as well as learning best practices that promote bike safety and awareness for urban cycling. Not only will our interns and apprentices learn new skills to add to their repertoire of bicycle knowledge and know-how, but they’ll also be empowered to see that they can use bicycling as a tool to create future opportunities in their own lives.
