Volunteering
The Bike Kitchen runs entirely on the hours donated by our fantastic team of volunteer mechanics, welcomers, sweepers, tidiers, treasurers, directors, teachers and kettle-boilers (and of course the tea they drink). If you're interested in joining the team, we'd love to meet you!
Our volunteers have a wealth of knowledge in cycle maintenance. Most of our volunteers have a recognised cycle mechanic qualification and between us there’s bags of experience. Importantly we love to share that knowledge. The team puts in over 1000 hours per year (over 40 days) of their time supporting and teaching in the workshop!
We’re a mixture of men and women ranging from beginners looking to hone their skills, ex-professional mechanics, accomplished/obsessive home mechanics, to those looking for something to do in retirement. We also enjoy welcoming Duke of Edinburgh Award participants (some of of whom join us longer term!)
Everyone starts out with a trial shift or two to see how they get on, no pressure and no strings. We’d love to hear from you.
What does volunteering involve?
- Two three-hour DIY drop-in shifts per month as part of a two or three person team – normally a Wednesday evening or Saturday afternoon.
- Helping members of the public learn new skills and gain confidence in looking after their bikes – not fixing bikes for people: we’re not a bike shop
- Welcoming service users, taking workshop donations, selling basic spares such as inner tubes and brake and gear cables
- Working behind the scenes keeping things ticking along – people management, crunching numbers, applying for grants and general admin
And what do we offer our volunteers?
- The chance to hone your own bike maintenance skills, learn from fellow volunteers, and work on a variety of bikes
- Access to a professional-level workshop including tools and basic spares
- Formal training opportunities (for our longer term or more committed volunteers)
- A friendly team of fellow bike-touchers to talk to about bikes without fear of social stigmatism or divorce
- That warm fuzzy feeling that comes from doing something nice
- As much tea as you can drink
Like any skill, cycle mechanics is a continuous learning experience and we try to ensure our team are constantly improving and growing in confidence. We try to ensure our longer-term and committed volunteers have access to formal qualifications so we’re all confident that CBK can help the most people in the best possible way.
If you’re thinking of pursuing a career in the trade then there’s nothing better than getting regular hands-on experience on a variety of bikes, and we certainly see a variety. The good, the bad, and the ugly!
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