2024 RAB Annual Report

Annual Report 2024

231-313-5070 info@recycleabicycletc.org

2024 was an exceptional year for Recycle-ABicycle. For the second year in a row, we experienced double-digit growth giving

Recycle-A-Bicycle volunteers logged over 3,300 hours in 2024. Our volunteers refurbish bikes, assist customers and clients, and maintain the workshop operations.

All of the bikes that go through our workshop are donated. Our local communities continue to be very generous with donations of bikes and parts. Even the bikes that are too costly to refurbish typically have parts harvested to repair other bikes.

The remainder of the metal is recycled, keeping it out of the landfill.

YEAR OVER YEAR

350 306 300 NUMBER OF BICYCLES DISTRIBUTED

away 306 bikes (a 32% increase over 2023). In addition, we provided our clients with 127 free repairs to keep them on the road (a 22% increase). We continue to provide each client with a bicycle lock and lights to keep the bike secure and the clients visible. These incredible results were made possible by the partnership we have with our volunteers, the community, and our financial supporters.

RECYCLE-A-BICYCLE BIKE DISTRIBUTION

250

200

232

188

150

100

50

0

2022

2023

2024

YEAR

Thank you to the following organizations for their support. 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!

R-A-B received 70 light sets through the Bike Lights for Michigan Nights program, made possible by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, with additional support from the DALMAC Fund and the League of Michigan Bicyclists. These lights reduced the number that we had to purchase to equip our 306 clients for improved visibility.

The growth brought challenges as well. Last year’s tent provided much-needed summer workspace, but storing bikes while maintaining space for mechanics became critical. To address this, we added a trailer for temporary storage.

Another challenge is the time required to refurbish more bikes.

While we’ve gained new volunteer mechanics, our current workforce is at capacity.

2024 Bike Swap Recycle-A-Bicycle hosted the 13th Annual Bike Swap on May 18, 2024, and it was a big success that helped to offset the cost of the program.

The Bike Swap enables the community to bring in their bikes to sell and buy bikes at a reasonable price. 25% of each bike sold is a donation to Recycle-A-Bicycle. With the help of 47 volunteers who logged more than 200 hours, we put on our largest fundraising event ever. Bicyclists of all ages came to the Old Town Parking Garage to find that perfect bike.

We sold 192 unique road bikes, trikes, mountain bikes, and a few special e-bikes. The 2025 bike swap will be held on May 17, with drop off on May 16.

BIKE SWAP SAVE-THE-DATE MAY 17, 2025

Letter from Jeff & Melissa Leading the R-A-B TART Trails Initiative remains deeply rewarding. We’re grateful for the support of our volunteers, community, donors, and the TART Trails team, all of whom help us get bikes to those in need.

We can’t thank our volunteers enough. Founder Don and longtime volunteer Bob continue to give their time multiple days a week. Regulars Tom, Ken, and Joe have been joined by new volunteers Brandon, Mike, Pete, Dennis, Tom, Doug, Kim, and Nancy.

Without this dedicated team, we couldn’t have met this year’s demand.

Improved workshop organization and strategic parts purchasing have boosted our output, but we’re nearing capacity. To address this, we’re drafting a job description for our first paid part-time mechanic to increase throughput and expand workshop hours.

R-A-B also benefits the environment by reducing waste. We recycle end-of-life bikes and tires, including 370 tires last year. Although recycling tires adds costs, it’s an important environmental contribution.

People often ask why we volunteer at R-A-B. A letter we received sums it up: “Your gift of a bicycle to me was God-sent to help me take the next step in my life. After being homeless and finally getting housed, I was able to get a job. With the bike you gave me, I could reach the bus stop I needed to get to work.”

We’re continuing to take winter appointments for referrals and free repairs and look forward to resuming regular workshop hours in April.

Jeff and Melissa Zawisza Recycle-A-Bicycle Volunteer Program Directors

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 a p p o i n t m e n t t h r o u g h t h e w i n te r until we return in April 2025. Please c o n t a c t u s i f y o u ’ r e i n t e r e s te d i n volunteering!

231-313-5070 info@recycleabicycletc.org