Bike House Volunteer Guide 2011

8/3/2019 Bike House Volunteer Guide 2011

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Name:____________________________ Date:___________________________

BikeHouseVolunteerGuide

WelcometotheBikeHouse.Weregladyourehere.Youmightnotknowityet,butyouhavenearlyeverythingyou

needtohelpusteachpeopleaboutbikes.Thisguideandafewdaysatclinicswillgiveyoutherest.

TheBasics

MissionStatement

Ourmissionistobuildaspacewhereallpeoplecanworkon,learnabout,andenjoybikes.Toachieveourmission,we

runacommunity-basedbicyclerepairshopinWashington,DC.Theshopprovidesacentralspaceforsharingtools,

parts,andexpertise,andfacilitatesaffordable,hands-onlearningforpeopleofallbackgroundsandskilllevels.

VolunteeringattheBikeHouse

WereallvolunteersattheBikeHouseandbelievevolunteeringshouldbeeasyandfun.VolunteershelpattheBike

Houseforalotofreasons:tolearnmoreaboutbikes,tomeetnewpeople,tosharewithothersandtomakeour

communitystronger.Asavolunteer,youcanexpecttodoallthesethings.

VolunteersalsomaketheBikeHousebetter.Werealllearninghowtodowhatwedoandcanalwaysusenewideasand

energy.Thisisntonlyaboutbikes,butaboutcreatinganenvironmentwherepeoplecanlearnmoreandhavemorefun

together.Weexpectyoutodothistoo.


2/7

What we do Saturday Clinics

OurSaturdayclinicsarethefocalpointofourwork.TheclinicshappeneverySaturdayfrom12-3pmbehindQualia

CoffeeinPetworth.Peoplecometoourclinicsto:

Askadviceandgethelpfromourvolunteers Fixtheirownbicycles Meetotherbikersinthearea LearnaboutbikinginDC

Neitherourguestsnorourvolunteersarerequiredtohavemaintenanceexpertise.Whatisrequiredisthewillingnessto

contributetoasafe,positivelearningspace,whichmeanssettingagoodexamplewithpersonalbehaviorandhelping

othersdothesame.Guestscomewithalllevelsofbicyclerepairskillsandinterest.Ourgoalistomatchpeoplewho

wanttolearnwithpeoplewhowanttoshareknowledge.Ideally,peoplewhospendtimelearningwithuswillpasswhat

theylearnontootherswhetherasavolunteerattheBikeHouseorelsewhere.

Howwehelp

Guestscometoourclinicstodoeverythingfrominflatingtheirtirestobuildingentirebikesfromscratch.Depending

whateachpersonneeds,werehappytoteacharepair,lendouttoolsandmaterials,ordirectthemtoalocalbikeshopformoreassistance.Wegenerallydontencouragelong-termprojectsattheBikeHousebecausewehavelimitedtime

andspace,butifsomeoneisreallyreadyforachallenge,goforit.Justkeepinmindthatwewanttomakesureour

guestsarehappyandtheirbikeswholeby3pm.

Toolsandmaterials

Wehaveallthebasictoolsattheclinic(thinkwrenches,screwdrivers,wirecutters,files,etc.)andseveralmorebike-

specifictoolslikechainwhipsandcrank-pullers.Ourthreebikestandsmakefixingbikesmucheasier,asdoesourtruing

standforstraighteningwheels.Wedonthavemanypartsexceptafewdisposablethingslikeextratubes,cablesand

housing.Werecommendthatpeoplebringtheirownparts.Also,wehavecleaningsuppliesandbasiclubesandoils.

WestoreallofthesetoolsandpartsinthebasementofQualiaduringtheweekandpullthemupatthebeginningof

eachclinic.

RunningtheClinic

Ourclinicdependsonthesupportofallourvolunteersandseveralkeyroles:

Host:Thehostservesafocalrolemakingsurethattheclinicopensandclosesontime,mechanicsareoccupied,andguestsaresatisfied.Moreinformationontheclinicsetup,below.

LeadMechanics:Weoftenhaveafewninjamechanicsaroundwhocanproblem-solvealltypesofrepairs.Thisisnotaformalrole,butagoodresourcetoknowabout.Leadmechanicsoftenjumparoundfromprojectto

projectratherthanfocusingsolelyononeperson.

Volunteers:Volunteersteachbikerepairs!Volunteersmayeitherworkwithoneguestatatimeorinagroupofseveralguests.Newvolunteerssometimesliketostartbyshadowingothervolunteers.

Joel:JoelistheownerofQualiaCoffeeshopsohissupportiscriticalfortheworkthatwedo.Heletsusruntheclinicinhisbackparkinglotoutofthegoodnessofhisheart,soitisveryimportantthatwerespecthisspace.If

Joelmakesarequestofyouatanypoint,pleasemakesuretheclinichosthasheardtherequestandthatthe

problemissolved.


3/7

SaturdayClinicRoles:TheHost

Thehosthasanumberofdutiesbothduringandsurroundingtheclinic.Heresaquickrundownofwhatyouwoulddo

asahost:

Beforetheclinic ,sendanemailtoallBikeHousevolunteersannouncingtheweekendeventsandforpeopletosignup.

Checkthesign-upbeforetheclinictomakesurewehaveenoughpeople,andiftherearefew,roundupsomemore

more.

ClinicSetUp:Arriveat11:45andsayhellotoJoel.Whentheothervolunteersstarttoarrive,worktogethertobringup

allthematerialsfromthebasement,includingtent,stands,tools,cleaningsupplies,andsomeparts.Alsomakesurethat

agarbagebagisplacedinaprominentlocation(Joeldoesntlikeustousehisgarbagebins)andthedonationbinvisible.

DuringtheClinic, thehostservesmultipleroles:

Helpguestslearn:Greetnewguestsandmakethemfeelwelcome.Whensomeonearrives,askiftheguesthaseverbeentothecoopbeforeandhowtheylearnedaboutus.Thenhavetheguestsigninontheclipboardand

tellyouabouttheirbike.Oneyouhaveasenseoftheproblemstobesolved,findamechanicwhocanhelp.If

theresawait,puttheguestinagroupwithotherslearningsimilarthings.Ifpeoplearelearning,peopleare

happy. Helpmechanicsteach:Sincethehostsometimeshasabestviewofeachclinic,itisonthehosttomakesure

thatalltheguestsarelearningandhappy.Sometimesthismightinvolvehelpingthemechanicsslowdownand

bebetterteachers.Checkinandasktheguestwhats/heislearning-thisprovidesanopportunityforourguests

toteachandreallycementwhattheyvelearned!

Watchtheclock: Makesureyoukeepyoureyeonthetimeandaskthelate-arrivinggueststobedonearound3pm.Thismakesforhappiermechanicsandguestsalike.

DocumenttheAction:Makeanoteofanyneededitemssuchassupplied,missingtools,orotherideastomaketheclinicssmoother.Alsokeeptrackofanyfunstoriesorbigsuccessesthosearefuntosharelater.Ifyou

haveacamera,takepicturesforourwebsite.YoucansendallthisinformationouttotheBikeHouselistserv

aftertheclinic.

Aftertheclinic:Thehosthasafewmorethingstotakecareofwhentheclinicisover.Afterputtingallthetoolsand

materialsinthebasement,assignsomeonetodatabasetheguestnamesandgetthefinancestoourfinancesclerk,

currentlyFhar.Ifyouhavetime,sendoutanemailtotheBikeHousevolunteerslistwithanygoodstoriesorinsights

fromtheday,includingpictures.

SaturdayClinicRoles:NewVolunteers

Asanewvolunteer,youmayeitherworkdirectlywithguestsorshadowanothervolunteer,dependingonyourcomfort

teachingandfixingbikes.Whenyoucometotheclinicasanewvolunteer,besuretodothefollowing:

Introduceyourselftothehost. Letthehostknowwhatprojectsyouarecomfortablewithandwhatskillsyouwouldliketolearn.Ifyouwouldliketohelpwithrepairs,askthehostiftheressomeoneinneed.Ifyouwould

liketoshadowanothermechanic,askthehosttopairyouwithapersonorproject.

Putonanapron.Thisidentifiesyouassomeonewhocanhelp. Getteaching.Teachingcanbeintimidatingatfirstbutthesooneryoustarttheeasieritwillget.Remember,you

canalwaysaskothervolunteersandguestsifyoudontknowhowtodoarepairjustyet.

KeepLearning.Buildoutyourtoolsetofbikerepairsbyobservingnewprojects.Allofourvolunteershaveadifferentsetoffixingtoolsandcanlearnalotfromeachother.

Improvewhatwedo. PleasefeelfreetotaketheinitiativetoimprovetheBikeHouseafteryoucheckinwithothervolunteersaboutit.


4/7

Whatwedo-OtherActivities

OutsideourSaturdayclinics,therearelotsofotherwayswecanhelppeopleworkon,learnabout,andenjoybikes.

Hereareafewactivitieswevegotinmind.Asanewvolunteer,youaremorethanencouragedtojoinalltheseactivities

andthinkofmore.

BikeMaintenanceClasses

Duringthemainseason,werunregularbikerepairclassesfornewmechanics.Thesefour-sessionclassescoverthe

foundationalbuildingblocksinbikemaintenance:generalinspectionsandvocabulary,gears,brakes,andwheels.Volunteerscantaketheclassesandhelpteachthem.

YouthClasses

Workingwithyoungpeopleisfunandrareforalotofus.BikeHousevolunteersarestartingtoworklocalschoolandrec

centerstobuildbike-relatedprogrammingwithlocalyouth.Ifyouwanttogetinvolved,letthePeopleClerkknowand

wellputyouintouchwiththerightperson.

MobileBikeClinic

Imagineafoodcartforbikerepair.Thatstheplanforournewmobilebikeclinic,abiketrailerfullyequippedwithtools

andequipmentforbasicbikemaintenance.Wereplanningtotakethistrailerontheroadtoevents,schools,populated

areas,bikepathsorwhereverpeoplecouldusesomeon-the-spotassistance.Letusknowifyouthinkofanywherewe

shouldgo!

Skillshares

Recently,wevestarteddoinginformalskillshareswhereBikeHousevolunteersandguestsgettogethertolearnfrom

eachotheraboutaspecifictopic.Topicsincludewinterizingyourbike,buildingawheel,andotheradvancedmechanics

techniques.Moretopicideaswelcome.

FunEventsandRides

Sometimeswejustwanttohangoutandridebikestogether.Heresasamplingofsomefunthingswevedone:bike

adventureslideshowandpotluckatSarahshouse,groupridetoPhoenixBikesinArlington,hugeBikeHousefundraiser

withbluegrassmusic,aDJ,andlotsoffriends.Keepanearoutforupcomingeventsandletusknowifyouthinkof

somethingweshoulddoorjoininon.


5/7

Howweteachbikerepair

TeachingbikerepairiswhattheBikeHouseisallabout.Weusethefollowingguidelineswhenweteach.Besuretoask

anoldvolunteerifyouhavequestionstheyhavelotsofteachingtricks!

Doityourself

Whenavolunteerishelpingaguest,theguestshoulddomostofthework.Thereareafewwaystoteachsomeonea

repairthatallowsthemtodoitontheirown: Demonstratetherepairfirstandallowthepersonyourehelpingtorepeattheactivity.Youcanundotherepair

youhavejustdone,orifyouhavefixedapairedpart(likeabrake),allowthepersontorepeattherepaironthe

otherone.

Describetherepairwhilethepersonyourehelpingiscompletingtheactivity.Asakey,wetrytofollowthephrasedonttakethetooloutofsomeoneshand.Ifyoudid,itprobablymeansyougot

tooexcitedandshouldgiveitback.

Youdontneedtobeanexperttobeateacher

Goaheadandjumpin.Getamanual,oraskanothervolunteerforhelp.Wehaveafewcopiesofourownbikerepair

zineifyoulearnbestbyreading,andwehavealotofknowledgeablepeoplewholovetotalkaboutbikesandbikerepairifthatshowyoulearnbest.Itsokaytolearnalongsidethepersonyourehelping.Whenthisisthecase,sometimesits

helpfultomanageexpectationsbysayingwelllearnthistogether,andaskforhelpwhenweneedit.

Workwiththepersonbeforethebike

Figuringoutwhatsomeoneknowsorwantstolearnisoftenmuchmoredifficultthanfiguringoutwhatswrongwitha

bike.Herearesometricksweusetobemoreunderstandingteachers:

Assesspriorknowledge.Agoodwaytodothisbysimplyaskingtheguest,tellmeaboutyourbike.Ourmechanicsfindthattheycanlearnalotaboutpersonshistory,understanding,andpriorexperiencesinbike

repairsjustbyopeningthedoortolettheguesttalk.

Checkforunderstandingasyougo. Askthemtorepeatbackwhattheylearned.

Makethespacesafeforall

Westrivetomaintainasafespaceforallpeople.Asavolunteer,thismeanshelpingguestsandothervolunteersuse

encouraging,positivelanguageandtreateachotherwithrespect.Afewthingstoconsider:

Weoftenmakeassumptionsonhowmuchsomeoneknowsaboutbikesbasedonarbitraryjudgmentssuchasgender,class,race,orthetightnessofonespants.Questionyourassumptions.Theycanmakeithardtolearn

andtoteach.

Beingniceisgreat.Beingtoonicemightmakepeopleuncomfortable.Dontflirtintheshop.UsetherighttoolfortherightjobEverytypeofrepairrequirestheuseofatleastonespecifictool.Inotherwords,thereisarighttoolforthejob.You

mayobservepeopleusingtoolsotherthantherighttool.Youareencouragedtosuggesttothesefolksthattheycan

usethemoreappropriateorefficienttoolinstead.Avoidtellingpeoplethattheyaredoingsomethingwrongor

incorrect.Youarealsoencouragedtoremindpeoplehowtousetoolsproperlyifyouobserveimpropertooluse .


6/7

BeingaVolunteerResponsibilities

Weaskthatallvolunteersattendanorientation,volunteeratclinics,andserveasrolemodelsincreatinganopen

learningenvironment.Wealsoencouragevolunteerstojoinusatbiweeklyorganizationalmeetings(below),participate

inothereventsandactivities,orhelpbehindthescenesinoutreach,communityengagement,ornewprojects.

BiweeklymeetingsWeholdbi-weeklymeetingseveryotherMondaytotalkaboutthebigpictureforourorganization.Normally,each

meetinghassomebalanceofupdatesonnewprojects,problemsolvingaroundissues,andbrainstormingnewideas.

Theyrefunandeveryoneiswelcome!

Clerkships

Wehaveseveralvolunteerclerkswhotakeonspecificresponsibilitiesthatarebesthandledbyasinglepersonorpair.

Therolesare:twocommunicationsclerks;onetreasurer;onestuffclerk,whokeepstrackofourthings;andtwopeople

clerks,whorunvolunteerorientationandtheclasses.Clerkshipsarerotatedseveraltimeseachyearatthe

organizationalmeetingsandareagreatopportunitytotakeonaformalroleattheBikeHouse.Clerksarealsogreat

resourcesonallthingsBikeHouse. Howtolearnmoreaboutbikemaintenance

Everyonelearnsdifferentlyandatadifferentpace.TheBikeHouseoffersavarietyofwaystolearn,whichyoumay

combineasneeded:

Shadowaknowledgeablevolunteerataclinic Offertolearnalongwithadrop-inshopparticipant(manualsareavailable) Takeoneofourfour-sessionbikemechanicsclasses Requestaskillshareorhostone Learnfromthebikerepairzine,othermanualsatQualiaorthegreatnumberofresourcesonline

HowtoStayinTouchWeuseafewdifferentemaillistsandwebsitestokeepintouch.Youcanalwaysaskforhelp.Heresanoverview:

BikeHouseNewsletter ThisisourmonthlynewsletterlistforallBikeHouseguests.Youareprobablyalreadyonthislist.Ifnot,clickJoinouremaillistonourwebsite: www.thebikehouse.org

BikeHouseVolunteersList-Weusethislisttosendonce-weeklyemailsfortheweekendvolunteersign-upandothermajorevents,usuallyonThursday.Tojointhevolunteermailinglist,email [email protected]

BikeHousematesListThisisoursmallest,buthighesttrafficlist,onlyforthoseinterestedintheinter-workingsoftheBikeHouse,includingtheupdatesontheMondaymeetingsandothernewdevelopments.Tojointhe

housemateslist,[email protected].

OtherUsefulInformationQualiaCoffeeAddress :3917GeorgiaAvenue,Petworth

QualiaCoffeePhoneNumber :202-248-6423

Websites

TheBikeHouse.orgCheckoutupcomingclassesandevents.

TheBikeHouseInternalWebsiteWeuseadifferentwebsitetocoordinateourinternaldocumentsandcalendars.This

isopentoallat:http://sites.google.com/site/thebikehousemates/home


7/7

Our Story

TheBikeHousecametogetherinthespringof2009.Atthetime,DChadnthadcommunity-basedbikespaceforseveral

yearsandafewdifferentgroupswereworkingseparatelytobuildone.Whenthesegroupscaughtwindofeachother,

allittookwasafewadsoncraigslist,somephonecallsandemails,andafewweeksofexcitingdiscussiontoplantthe

BikeHouseseed.

GettingStartedWeheldourfirstclinicatafishfrybehindthePeoplesMediaCenteronthefirsthotdayinJune2009.Oftheeight

volunteersthatday,onlyoneofuswouldadmittoknowinganythingaboutbikes.Therestofusfuddledwithairpumps

andmarveledatthestrangemachinesbeforeus.Weallneedtostartsomewhere.Welearnedthough,andbythetime

wemovedtothealleybehindQualiaafewmonthslater,wehadacoreofabout15volunteerswithagrowing

knowledgeofbikemaintenanceandteachingtools.WevebeenbehindQualiaeversince.

OurFirstYear

Thesummerof2009broughtalotofgoodthings.Weboughtourfirstsetoftoolsandstands,taughtover250people

howtofixbikes,and,mostimportantly,webuiltacoregroupofvolunteerswhowerecommittedandexcitedtogetthe

BikeHouseofftheground.Inthefall,allthemechanicstookaone-monthmechanicsclasstaughtbyavolunteerfromanothershop,andwealllearnedsomenewtricksaboutbikesandteaching.Basedonthisexperience,weencourageall

volunteerstotakeourfourweekmechanicsclass,whichwebuiltoffthismodel.

OurSecondYear

In2010,wesetmanyofthesystemsinplacethatyouseetoday.Wedesignedanewwebsite,logo,andwritten

materials,startedyouthclinicsatthelocalrecreationalcenter,andtaughtourfirstclassesfornewmechanics.Wemade

Qualiaabetterspacebybuildingtheorangebikestandyouseeforourtoolsandalsodesignedamobiletrailertotake

theshowontheroad.Wealsohadalotoffun,andthrewahugefundraiserpartyinthespring,agroupridetoHaines

pointinthefall,andabiketripslide-showbyabonfireastheweatherturnedcold.

NextYear

Withyourhelp,betterthanthelast.

Bike House Volunteer Guide 2011

Documents

Transcript of Bike House Volunteer Guide 2011