Shop Talk: Community Cycling Center and Bikes for Humanity

We're just about to sign off for the week to enjoy the holiday (and my daughter turns 19 tomorrow!), but before we take a break I wanted to share the work of people and organizations who are making the season brighter for people in need.I loved talking to shop owners last month for our first Shop Talk series episode. This time I talked to two local nonprofits — Bikes for Humanity and Community Cycling Center — that provide bikes for the community, but have a much different approach. They focus on making bikes more accessible for people on low-incomes and for people who either don't have a shop in their neighborhood would likely never feel comfortable walking into a traditional, for-profit bike shopBikes for Humanity on southeast Powell started (as Community Exchange Bike School/Exchange Cycle Tours) in 2005 and became an official non-profit in 2015. I spoke to their current executive director, Andrew Shaw-Kitch, who's been with the group since 2014. The Community Cycling Center in the Alberta neighborhood was founded in 1994 and still serves the community with a retail bike shop and several programs including their annual Holiday Bike Drive, that happened just last weekend. I spoke to their marketing coordinator Cole Lalomia and their program manager Nissy Cobb. It was a really fun episode to put together and I think you'll be heartened and inspired to hear from these great folks and learn more about the work they're doing. I've really enjoyed getting the podcast up-and-running these past six months or so. And we recently pushed past 5,000 downloads which is really amazing! Thanks for listening everyone and have a great holiday. This episode was recorded on December 4th, just five days after he filed his paperwork with the city elections office.This podcast is a production of Pedaltown Media Inc., and is made possible by listeners like you. If you're not a subscriber yet, please become one today at bikeportland.org/support. You can listen to more episodes and find out how to subscribe to our podcast bikeportland.org/podcast. Our theme music is by Kevin Hartnell.---Links:The CCC in the 2021 Give GuideBikes for Humanity Year-End Fundraising Campaign