2023 Recycle-A-Bicycle Annual Report

Annual Report 231-313-5070 info@recycleabicycletc.org

2023

The mission of Recycle-A-Bicycle is to provide recycled and refurbished bicycles to economically disadvantaged individuals in the Grand Traverse region.

Founded by Don Cunkle in 2007, the past year marked a major transition year for the RecycleA-Bicycle program. Early in 2023, we celebrated Don’s accomplishments as he transitioned the leadership to Jeff & Melissa Zawisza. Always on the move, Don continues to be one of the dedicated mechanics at the Recycle-A-Bicycle shop on Woodmere.

We also had a record year in bike referrals and repairs, keeping our clients moving throughout the region. We are excited to have added several new agencies to our bike referral program to help those in need of transportation find independence. From October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, we provided 232 free bicycles to clients and provided 104 free repairs. This is a 23% increase in the number of bike referrals and a 58% increase in free repairs over last year. We continue to provide each client with a heavy duty cable lock to keep the bikes secure and a light set to keep our clients safer and more visible.

These incredible results were made possible through the partnership we have with our volunteers, the community, and our financial supporters. A special thanks goes to our volunteers who logged over 2,000 hours this year. These volunteers play many roles from refurbishing the bikes and assisting clients and customers, to workshop organization and record keeping.

Individuals from the Grand Traverse area and surrounding communities continue to be exceptionally generous with bicycle and part donations. Even the donated bikes that are too costly to fix can supply many useful parts that we reuse on other bicycle repairs. We work with a local recycler to pick up and recycle remaining unused metal, keeping it out of the landfill.

In addition, Recycle-A-Bicycle provided 70 lights sets from the League of Michigan Bicyclist and the Bike Lights for Michigan Nights program enabled by Michigan Office of Highway Safety and Planning and with support from the Tri-County Bicycle Association DALMAC Fund. These lights reduced the number that we had to purchase to equip the 232 clients for improved visibility.

Thank you to the following organizations for their support from October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2023 Grants from these organizations allow Recycle-A-Bicycle to continue working in our community.

Cherry Capital Cycling Club Cherryland Electric Cooperative | Cherryland Cares Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation Campbell Endowment Zonta Club of Traverse City

Thank you!

Letter from Jeff and Melissa Transitioning

our

volunteer

roles

to

include leading the Recycle-A-Bicycle program with support from TART Trails has been more work than we initially expected but has been very rewarding.

We appreciate the interaction with our clients and customers to support active transportation, outdoor recreation, and Our 2023 annual bike swap event was very successful. This is one of our main fundraisers

to

help

support

our

program.

The

event

involved

46

volunteers and over 200 hours of transporting bikes to the Old Town Parking Garage, check in, floor set up, overnight security, bike sales, and clean up. In addition to the bike swap, our sales continued to be strong at the workshop which helped offset our cost and allowed us get affordable bikes into the community. This year the Bike Swap will be moved to May to avoid conflicts with Smart Commute Week.

personal wellbeing.

We also want to express our appreciation for our Recycle-A-Bicycle volunteers. In addition to Founder Don and longtime volunteer Bob, new volunteers Tom, Ken, and Joe joined us at the workshop.

Additionally, Rick another new volunteer, has been helping us refurbish a number of

the

kid

bikes

for

the

Women’s

Resource Center - over and above the 232 which we gave away! This teamwork enabled us to manage the significant growth this year.

Last year we added another repair station to the workshop to support additional volunteer mechanics. We also purchased a tent to increase repair space. In 2024, we are targeting additional workshop

BIKE SWAP SAVE-THE-DATE MAY 18, 2024

organization and storage solutions to improve our effectiveness even more.

Our sincere thanks to all who make this program possible.

- Jeff & Melissa Zawisza

We are typically open 3 days a week from April until the middle of December.

We also give bicycles away and provide needed repairs by appointment through the winter until we return in April 2024.

Please contact us if you’re interested in volunteering!

231-313-5070 info@recycleabicycletc.org