Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Yes I know it seems like we're always raising money for something or other! This Easter holidays we're aiming to cycle 200 miles as a family to raise money for Recyke y'bike. If you have a moment please read the following all about Recyke y'bike:

Recyke y’bike is a charity. We’ve been established since 2006 and generate the majority of income through sales of refurbished bikes and servicing bikes. We’re passionate about bikes as we believe they’re a great vehicle for social good. They’re great for the environment and for health and well-being. They’re a low cost way to get about; access to a bike can lift people out of transport poverty. The practical, mechanical skills needed to fix a bike can be easily taught and transferred to other settings. Bikes create a diverse team with a shared interest.

You can check out our recent activities in our 2019-2020 Annual Report 

Our Charitable Objectives are defined as:

1. To develop the capacity and skills of the socially disadvantaged community of the north east of England in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society
2. To preserve and protect the health of the public by encouraging cycling
3. To advance the education of all ages of the public in the safe use, re-use and maintenance of bicycles
4. The protection and preservation of the environment for the public benefit by saving bicycles from landfill, the promotion of bicycle re-use and recycling

We send around 75 bikes a month to partners Key Enterprises who ship them to schools in The Gambia. The bikes are used to enable children living in remote areas to access education. The bikes needed for this are more robust, basic models, which make it easier for people to maintain and source the spares for them. We also send around 40 bikes each month to Deerbolt Prison. These bikes are refurbished by young offenders, providing them with skills which they can use upon release.

We give away hundreds of bikes a year in the North East. These go to schools, community groups, and individuals on very low incomes including refugees and people seeking asylum. People seeking asylum get a very small amount to live on while their case is considered, yet in addition to feeding themselves with this, they also have other costs — typically they have to travel quite large local distances to register with local authorities, meet their case workers, etc. Some days it can mean making the choice between eating or buying the bus ticket to meet these appointments. A bike solves this, and we’re glad when we can help out like this. Anyone on a low income can be referred in to us by a professional of any kind. All we need is a short description stating why a bike will make a positive difference to their lives. We always have high demand for this service so the wait can be several months. For more information contact sara@recyke.bike.

We have a team of 40+ volunteers supporting us and being supported. Many of our volunteers are just looking to give something back, but some also have some additional support needs. We’re focusing on supporting veterans, refugees and people seeking asylum and under 18’s at present. All volunteers are welcomed, trained, supported and provided with a place where their contributions are valued. Volunteers receive training in cycle maintenance and are supported to work as part of a team including communicating, negotiating, taking responsibility, and demonstrating self-motivation. All of these are key employability skills. The majority of our staff team started out as volunteers, and we’re proud of our record of former volunteers who now have paid jobs in other organisations as well.

We recycle bikes and save them from landfill. Of the 2,000 or so bikes that get donated every year to, around 1,700 get refurbished and go on to have a second (or third, or fourth) life. Some that can’t be saved do get scrapped – we separate out all the components and different metals so that nothing gets wasted.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.