KNOXVILLE, TN (BRAIN) Wednesday June 27 2012 1:33 PM MT—The Knoxville Bike Collective, a nonprofit organization that refurbishes and gives away bicycles, is seeking a donated or low-cost space, such as a warehouse, to continue its work.
The collective, founded in May 2011, most recently operated out of the basement of Saw Works Brewery, but the brewery’s expansion has forced the grass-roots organization out of the building and into a temporary space, said Jonathan Woodroof, one of its founders.
The move comes at a particularly difficult time for the group, which lost all its money in a burglary two weeks ago. Music shows and bike-related events are its main forms of fundraising; on Sunday, the collective will host a fundraiser at Knoxville’s Groundswell Collective arts venue, with an acoustic band, bicycle games and a cookout.
The group gets most of its bikes donated through Craigslist or by word-of-mouth, Woodroof noted.
“We’re not a bike shop,” he said. “I like to refer to us as a bike school. People can come to us and pick any bike they want—whether it’s a Huffy or a Trek or whatever—and all they have to do is take it apart and go through all the lessons to put it back together. They get a bike and don’t have to spend any money.”
The collective is looking for room to store 60 bikes and to host its twice-a-week repair clinics, which typically see a turnout of 30 people, Woodroof said.
Those interested in helping out the Knoxville Bike Collective can contact the group at knoxbikecollective@gmail.com.
