QC Bike Collective is organized as a community bike shop to provide Manchester area residents the ability to ride safe, affordable bicycles and have the opportunity to fix them.

Our goal is to provide our patrons with hands on skill building to do bicycle repairs and maintenance themselves, in an educative and supportive environment. Our vision is a Manchester full of bike riders who can depend on their bicycle for transportation and recreation, because of the educational and affordable services we provide.

Currently these services include:

Open Shop – (this is our primary activity and the initial reason for creating the collective) where the public is welcomed into our space to repair their bicycles using our tools, parts, and technical expertise. This work is supported by the City of Manchester, Planning and Community Development Community Improvement Plan funds, Queen City Rotary, Kiwanis Club of Manchester, bike sales and cash donations. We also offer free and/or reduced price lights, locks and helmets at Open Shop.

Build-a-Bike – where participants in a small, closed setting, work hands-on to build a bike from the ground-up for them to take home. Currently this program is in partnership with Sununu Youth Services Center as part of selected youth’s re-entry program.

Earn-a-Bike – In partnership with the Manchester Health Department & Granite United Way we provide two Manchester schools with ~150 bike, helmet, lights & lock packages. The bike packages are given as awards for academic and leadership excellence.

Bike sales – Bikes are donated to us by Manchester Police Department, Manchester Solid Waste Division, Central NH Bicycling Coalition, local bike shops and many individuals. Bike drives are an important source of donated bicycles. Our first choice is to refurbish the bike, but if it’s beyond repair, we use it for parts. We take care to ensure that every donated bike is re-purposed or recycled responsibly.

Volunteer training and community building – QC Bike provides a space for people to work together, many of whom might not otherwise interact. This important aspect of our work is currently supported by NH Charitable Foundation and Bean Foundation, other small grants and cash donations.

Open Air Bike Repair – a new partnership with Manchester Parks and Recreation will allow us offer bike repair support services to younger children as part of their day at Fun-in-the-Sun summer recreational programming.

In addition to providing 140-150 bike packages for the Earn-a-Bike programs at Beech and Gossler Elementary Schools (more on that later), QC Bike is committed to helping at several bike safety events this quarter. Your help, as a volunteer, is always welcome and much of it does not require any mechanical knowledge or skill! Please be in touch!

• April 28 from 10 am – 2 pm at Manchester Police Department (MPD) on Valley Street, as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. MPD has acquired 100 bike helmets to distribute. QC Bike will be there to organize the helmet distribution and offer other bike safety checkup and quick fixes. Drug Take Back Day
• May 5 from 10 am – 2 pm, at Green Acres Elementary School, Kiwanis Club of Manchester is holding a bike safety day. QC Bike is providing loaner bikes and offering minor bike safety repair services. The goal is always to provide some bike maintenance training to the bike rider. Kiwanis Club Bike Safety Day
• May 17 Bike Manchester is holding a bike safety event. Details to be released soon. Bike MHT on FaceBook
• June 23 from 9 am – 11:30 am at Beech Street Playground, there will be a Family Bike Skills/Safety Fair. This event is hosted by a group of organizations led by CMC Parish Nurse Program. QC Bike is providing loaner bikes and offering minor bike safety repair services. The goal is always to provide some bike maintenance training to the bike rider. June 23 FaceBook event

We have made a big step forward: QC Bike Collective is now officially a non-profit entity, registered as Queen City Bicycle Collective, dba QC Bike Collective.

What does this mean?

• We have a Board of Directors. The board will be expanded in the near future.
• NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire is still our fiscal sponsor (THANK YOU, NWSNH!). Grants and charitable donations are still made to NWSNH and we are able to use those funds to meet project goals, as we have been.
• Tyler Glodt, Shop Manager and Abby Easterly, Organizer remain VERY active with QC Bike and welcome every bit of sharing the privilege and responsibility of carrying the organization forward.
• QC Bike’s fiscal year is April 1 – March 31, so this is the start of a new, big year.
• The plans for this year include increasing QC Bike’s capacity to be successful and sustainable by building our base of volunteers and apprentice mechanics. This important work was funded by a grant from NH Charitable Foundation NHCF.
• We have a lot of work to do, much of it is fun and we need your help!

Since the 1^st of July, QC Bike Collective has had 773 visits by over 400 unique individuals.

The people who visit QC use their bikes for many different reasons, but they all share a common need for the services of a community bike shop. Most need to buy or fix a bike, inexpensively, and many need a chance to work together and learn. Every time our doors are open, more bikes are fixed, stronger connections are made and the collective’s work is more meaningfully shared.

QC Bike is rapidly facing a new challenge: securing new space and the means to pay for it. NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire has generously donated use of the space at 373 Union Street since we opened, but they need it back before long. It is imperative that, in the coming year, we move to, and have the ability to afford, an adequate space.

Can you help?

It is fair to say that many really count on QC Bike Collective. It is our goal to be an organization that our community can rely upon so that they can in turn rely on their bicycle.

Sonny England is one of the many individuals that QC Bike has helped in our short but impactful history. It had been more than 25 years since Sonny had ridden a bike. Without a license, a bike was his best option, but he was apprehensive. He has limited use of his right hand and was understandably concerned about finding an appropriate bike he could ride safely.

Sonny first came to QC, in February, looking for a bike to make it to work and medical appointments. He left that day on a loaner bike personally customized with modified brake and shifter levers. Two weeks later he came back and bought that bike for $30. All told, he has had four bikes (all from and customized at QC for his use) in less than a year: one was stolen and two more were upgraded through our trade-in plan. He comes to the shop routinely and works with the mechanics to keep his bike working properly.

Sonny started riding a bike because he had to and now he loves to! He reports that it’s good for his health and his state of mind. He says that he’s glad to share his story because of the importance QC has for him and the community as a whole.

To ensure that QC Bike continues to be a reliable, supportive organization in service to the Manchester community, we need your help.

Cash donations can be made through our fiscal agent, NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire:

Online: qcbike.org/how-to-help/

Find link to NWSNH, then designate “QC Bike Collective Project”

Mail:  Checks can be written to NWSNH and addressed to NWSNH, PO Box 3968, Manchester, NH, 03105, be sure to write: “QC Bike” in the memo line

In person: Come by the shop at 373 Union Street. Check the calendar, here – qcbike.org/calendar/

Please call me if you have any questions or would like to learn more about QC Bike’s plans, projects and how you can help in the coming year. Thank you and Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Abby Easterly

603.493.1720

abby@qcbike.org

QC Bike Collective Event on Oct 26^th at Great North Aleworks  5 to 7 PM was created to celebrate and share our news and plans. Let’s get the room filled! The last year has been great due to volunteers, donors, partner organizations, staff and participants at every level.

We want to see you there!

2016 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

New England Grassroots Environmental Fund  Supported QC with a Seed grant, a Grow grant and the prestigious KingFisher Award.

NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire  Provides QC with space in center city for $0 rent and is QC’s fiscal sponsor.

Manchester Health Department  Organized and helped fund the Earn- a-Bike program at Gossler and Beech Street schools that allowed us to provide 162 bike packages to 5^th graders in 2016. Anticipate needing 180 packages for 2017.

Granite United Way  GUW helped fund the school Earn-a-Bike program in 2016 and committed to funding the 2017 program.

Manchester Police Department  Changed policy in December 2015 to deliver all unclaimed and confiscated bicycles to QC.

Manchester Planning and Community Development Department  Approved funding for an intensive Build-a-Bike program for nine individuals through the Community Improvement Plan (CIP).

John H. Sununu Youth Services Center.  Helped plan and secure funding for a Build-a-Bike program for youth to gain skills and a bike through on-site participation at QC with SYC staff support. This program is starting in mid-October and from what we learned at Bike!Bike! (North American bike collective conference) is pretty unique. Many well established bike collectives haven’t been able to get a program like this going.

NH Charitable Foundation   Awarded QC an Express grant to support ongoing open shop services at QC.

Queen City Rotary  Supported QC in both 2015 and 2016 with grant $ for tubes, tires, helmets, locks and lights for neighborhood youth at open shop times at QC.

Central NH Bicycling Coalition  Provided a grant for volunteer training in December 2015.

Recycled Cycles (Goodwill of Northern New England)  Helped fulfill the Earn-a-Bike requirements and provided QC with many unfinished bikes to boost the number we have available to work on and get back into the community.

S & W Sports  Huge resource to QC for materials and tools at cost and a wealth of information and advice (when asked!).

Photography by Tony Attardo  Tony has created a photo documentary of his experience with QC Bike Collective. Prints with be for sale at the event.