Earning Your Wings at Blackstone Bicycle Works

In preparation for Bike to Work Week (June 8-14), I was asked to write a bike-related blog post for Groupon. I chose to profile Blackstone Bicycle Works, where my friend Tyjuan works. T and I met at U of C but we haven't kept in touch much since graduation. It was great to reconnect with him for the interview and hear out about the good he's doing his community. 

Tyjuan Edwards (aka Top 50) , center bottom row, is a youth mentor at Blackstone Bicycle Works. 

The South Side is one of the most dangerous place to live in Chicago--if not the entire country. While the city has succeeded in disbanding some major gangs, there's been a resurgence as of late, structured around neighborhood territories. Instead of joining through some sort of initiation, new members are drafted into gangs simply based on where they live. But at Blackstone Bicycle Works, a full-service bike shop in the Woodlawn neighborhood, the affiliations are checked at the door. Here, an after-school youth program has kids from different neighborhoods working side-by-side to repair bikes-- and if they work hard, they can even earn their own set of wheels.

“Not every kid wants to gangbang. They don’t have options. If we give them better options, they’ll make better choices,” said Tyjuan Edwards (AKA Top 50), one of Blackstone’s youth mentors. “The program helps get kids off the streets and working toward something positive.”

What they’re working toward is a bike of their own. As part of the Earn-A-Bike Program, all kids who spend 25 hours doing volunteer repair work will earn a refurbished bike of their choosing, plus a helmet and lock. By that point, the participant know quite a bit about bike maintenance, but they also learn practical skills along the way, including how to conduct themselves in a busy bike shop. Once kids graduate to the next level, they are eligible to become paid crew members during summer break. The program is free of charge and available to all kids ages 8 through 18.

For the kids, earning the bike is of special importance. Edwards explained, “It’s like earning a set of wings. But instead of it being given to you, you earned it. And you see things differently when you earn them.”

Of course, it's about much more than the actual bicycle. The participants also build confidence as they learn new skills. And the program takes place in a safe environment--one that the neighborhood gangs respect. “It gives the kids a safe haven. And parents are happy knowing their kids are safe and not just hanging around," Edwards said.

In addition to Blackstone's Earn-A-Bike program, the not-for-profit runs an afterschool homework program. In the summer, breakfast and lunch are offered free of charge, a particularly important service as kids miss out on subsidized lunches that are only provided when school is in session. And this--despite all the fun he has working with bikes--is Edward’s favorite part of the job. “I like that I get to feed my whole community," he said.

You can get an inside look at Blackstone's operations and see their kids and staff in action here: