SEATTLE, WA (BRAIN)—Nonprofit community shop The Bike Shack is seeking the donation of land or retail space to relocate from its shrinking, tattered current home.
The volunteer-run Bike Shack was founded eight years ago in a rented 12-by-18-foot outbuilding behind what was then a vegan café and work cooperative in Seattle’s U District, said Jesse Card, who began volunteering five years ago. The shop is funded entirely by donations, and it helps people fix or build their own bikes and provides repair tools for community use.
“People are more apt to ride their bikes for transportation if they can fix a tire or straighten a bent derailleur,” Card said.
Two years ago, a new property owner moved The Bike Shack outbuilding and removed its electricity. The shop is now powered by a small solar array and/or an extension cord. Additionally, the property’s conversion to a mixed business/residential use caused The Bike Shack to lose its outdoor storage and work space, which is being turned into a garden area, reducing the shop’s overall footprint by half, Card noted. The outbuilding is also leaky and lacks running water or bathroom access, he added.
“It’d be nice to have more amenities and not have to spend 90 percent of our donations on rent, and be able to put on more workshops and have more tools,” Card said. “If we could find the land, we would be able to save enough money to get a temporary structure.”
Anyone interested in donating land or space can reach The Bike Shack at (425) 224-5310 or SeattleBikeShack@gmail.com
Also, The Bike Shack’s main annual fundraiser, Brewfest—featuring homebrewed beer, food and live music—is coming up Feb. 18. For more information, go to www.bikeshack.org/brewfest.php
