The (L)earn-a-Bike program was founded this past year by a contingent of Eastern Mennonite University alumni and campus community members as an alternative means for juvenile offenders to serve court-appointed community service hours.<\/p>\n Ben Bailey<\/a> \u201912, who co-founded the program with Gift & Thrift manager Deb King \u201877, describes its simple, but powerful premise: The teenagers\u2014most are middle- and high-school-aged\u2014are given a used, donated bicycle. They then strip all tparts from its frame and put them in a basket. In two-hour increments over the next eight weeks, under the guidance of an instructor, the kids service the parts and rebuild the bicycle, which they are allowed to keep once they have completed the course.<\/p>\n Yes, it might seem simple, but in the steps of rebuilding a bicycle arise opportunities for challenge, frustration and collaboration \u2013 the process nurtures personal growth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe kids that come through our program are often those who haven\u2019t found success in the traditional classroom setting,\u201d said Bailey.<\/p>\n He sees (L)earn-a-Bike as a safe space where participants can explore different kinds of learning, build self-confidence and experience the mentorship of positive role-modeling.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a place where whoever comes can step into positivity,\u201d said Bailey.<\/p>\n And then there is the work itself. Tom Brenneman \u201892 was working as an early intervention officer with the Rockingham County courts when he began the conversation about a bicycle-related community service program based on his experience with similar programs, such as the Zuni Avenue Bike Club in Tucson, Arizona. Brenneman thinks there is a tremendous amount of healing to be found in such tangible, hands-on work.<\/p>\n The program is young; the first participant began coursework in May 2015 and graduated in June. With 22 teenagers already having completed the program since then, and plans of having engaged 40 youth by June 2016, the community impacts could be significant.<\/p>\n \u201cWrenches, grease, gears and a spirit of welcome,\u201d Brenneman said when describing the program. \u201cIt\u2019s like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance<\/em> for kids.\u201d [<\/em>For those who aren\u2019t familiar with this influential work of philosophy, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, <\/em>published in 1974 by Robert M. Pirsig, explores, through a father-son trip on a temperamental motorcycle, the themes of work, values and the analytic\/creative ways of thinking.)<\/p>\n Gift & Thrift may not seem like the obvious place for a program like (L)earn-a-Bike to set up shop, but King, who oversees all the charitable operations housed in the Park View shopping center close to the EMU campus, sees (L)earn-a-Bike slotting neatly into the non-profit\u2019s mission. The thrift store has a long history of hosting\u00a0young people and adults looking for a place to complete court-mandated volunteer hours.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had been having conversations among ourselves and with people in the community regarding how to better utilize what we have going here,\u201d said King. \u201cWe know that we offer informal mentoring and training when volunteers come to work for us. But what would it look like if we were to formalize that experience, gear it toward a specific segment of the population, and focus on a tangible skill set, all the while offering a safe setting where healthy relationships are nurtured?\u201d<\/p>\n With that vision, (L)earn-a-Bike has partnered with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) through the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act (VJCCCA), a grant-funded program aimed at stemming the tide of youth falling into the juvenile detention system through a focus on community service- based sentencing. Celeste Williams, who oversees the VJCCCA in Harrisonburg, said the excitement about such programs is palpable.<\/p>\n \u201cKids who went through this program reported having learned more about themselves, and felt more proud of themselves than those who filled more traditional community service roles,\u201d she said, adding that the potential for programs such as (L)earn-a-Bike is exponential. \u201cWe don\u2019t need much money to start programs like this. We just need a few excited people.\u201d<\/p>\n EMU has been a source of several of those people. Bailey,\u00a0 the office coordinator for the applied social sciences<\/a> department, is an active cyclist and advisor to the EMU Cycling Club<\/a>. Eric Saner, husband of Bible and religion<\/a> professor Andrea Saner<\/a>, serves as an instructor (community member Matt Hassman also instructs). The program\u2019s advisory team is comprised of Bailey, King, Brenneman, student Matt Swartzendruber, Nathan Zook Barge \u201884, MA (conflict transformation) ’99, and professor of Bible and religion Peter Dula<\/a> ’92.<\/p>\n The group continues to explore funding options. While (L)earn-a-Bike receives funding from the DJJ for each participant who completes the course, the amount remains inadequate to provide quality programming, so charitable contributions currently bridge the budgetary gap. Community Mennonite Church<\/a>, the Voluntary Gas Tax, and local individuals have thus far made donations. [Information about how to contribute is at the end of this article.]<\/p>\n Other non-monetary contributions have been just as valuable to the program\u2019s success. Local business Pro Tested Gear <\/a>has donated a wide range of quality bike parts they weren\u2019t able to sell through their EBay site. The City of Harrisonburg provided a grant to purchase tools, and Byler Barns<\/a> will soon be delivering a donated barn.<\/p>\n \u201cStoring our inventory has been a problem,\u201d said Bailey, \u201cso we\u2019re really looking forward to having space outside of our workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n The goal, Bailey notes, is to create a program that sustains itself through services provided the community\u2014like bicycle classes offered to the public. So eventually the best way to support (L)earn-a-Bike will be by enrolling in a class.<\/p>\n Bailey says the program is gaining traction in the community and local courts, with several teens who had stolen bicycles being appointed directly to (L)earn-a-Bike by the judge overseeing their cases. But he envisions the program as more than a place to fulfill community service requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cI won\u2019t be satisfied until we have a space that\u2019s open to everyone,\u201d he said, citing an increasing interest and demand for affordable bicycles throughout the area.<\/p>\n King agrees. \u201cWe see this program ultimately as a destination for getting people together to be a community together,\u201d she said. \u201cBy leveraging the non-profit service model that Gift & Thrift provides, we hope to be able to meet tangible goods and service needs in a way that\u2019s accessible to people on the margins.\u201d<\/p>\n For the moment, though, Bailey and King are focused on building a creative and compelling alternative for court-appointed volunteers, one in which the hard work of self-reflection and tangible reward of a job well-done go hand in hand. As Brenneman noted, \u201cThat\u2019s a good start to restorative justice on two wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Deb King at 540-746-8547, ext. 103, or mail checks made out to Gift & Thrift with \u201c(L)earn a Bike program\u201d in the memo line.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/12\/ben-inset-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>Riding together<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"bikegroup-inset\"](\"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/is\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2015\/12\/bikegroup-inset-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>Contributions helpful<\/h3>\n
Pedaling forward
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\nTo contribute<\/h3>\n