Mission
Neighborhood Bike Works inspires youth and strengthens Philadelphia communities by providing equitable access to bicycling and bike repair through education, recreation, leadership, and career-building opportunities.
Desired Outcomes
We teach youth how to fix bikes, give them the chance to earn a bike and to explore new places by bike. A significant majority of our youth live in low-income neighborhoods and 80% of our youth are people of color.
Our programs promote:
A Safe and Supportive Space: Feeling like you belong
Engineering Strategies: Hands-on mechanics and problem solving
Social and Emotional Development: Giving and getting respect
Expanding Horizons: Discovering new places by bike
Physical Fitness and Health: Making healthy choices
Career Readiness: Building youth confidence and potential
A Safe and Supportive Space
Our space encourages learning, has supportive adults and older youth, and is a place where youth feel like they belong, especially girls and LGBTQ+ youth.
Engineering Strategies
Through hands-on experience with step-by-step bike repair, youth experience how powerful systems are assembled with simple parts and tools and practice engineering strategies for problem-solving and time management. Youth have a raised awareness of how engineering impacts our daily lives, particularly the systems that manage transportation and our city’s water supply.
Social and Emotional Development
Youth gain confidence in their social abilities through working with others, expressing their ideas and feelings, establishing and maintaining relationships with peers and adults, and receiving recognition for their accomplishments, their empathy, and their service to community.
Expanding Horizons
Through riding a bicycle, youth learn how to safely navigate around the city, explore different neighborhoods, and discover new places and people, which will expand their viewpoint and understanding of their place in the world. Youth who earn a bike experience increased freedom of mobility.
Physical Fitness and Health
Youth recognize how bicycle riding can be a way to maintain their health and fitness and learn to make healthier food choices. New food choices are introduced through the many snacks provided at NBW.
Career Readiness
Older youth develop leadership skills, good work habits, financial literacy and customer service skills and learn about the college admission process, how to write a resume, and practice job interviews.
Metrics
We are on a path to serve 400% more youth in 2022 with a 25% increase in revenue.
We will track our progress with:
A dashboard that monitors progress towards each objective
Quarterly progress reports to the Board starting on April 15, 2019
Annual revisions where necessary