The Working Bikes workshop in action during the pandemic – credit, Working Bikes

For 25 years, a local nonprofit has been refurbishing bikes for resale or donation to communities in need in Chicago and the world.

Over the years, its horizons have continued to expand beyond the Windy City and out to the farthest corners of the world.

Working Bikes, located at 2434 S. Western Ave in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, has seen an awful lot of bikes pass through its doors; pulling them from landfills, picking them up off the curbside, or accepting them from community members. Over 150,000 have been repaired since the registered 501(c)3 got its wheels turning in 1999.

12% of all the bikes they restored are sold in the Working Bikes storefront. 15% meanwhile are donated right back to the people of Chicago through local program partners that will ensure they arrive in the hands of people in need of transportation.

The whole operation is volunteer-supported: anyone can come in and fix a bike or learn how. A few dedicated employees ensure that salable models are in excellent condition, or boast unique designs and features.

“I think there’s, there’s always a need in Chicago,” said Trevor Clarke, current director of Working Bikes, in an interview with CBS Chicago.

“There are disinvested communities here who really lack access to transportation, and we saw that spike in with the new arrival population, so we had an acute need for people who were just coming to Chicago.”

Thousands more bikes—the majority, in fact—await delivery to Working Bikes’ overseas partners, in Mexico, Venezuela, Albania, Uganda, Angola, Egypt, Cuba, and many, many more countries besides.

FIXING BIKES, FIXING COMMUNITIES: Wheels for Winners Gives Hundreds of Free Bikes to Wisconsin Youth in Exchange for Community Service

Working Bikes provides not only the bicycles and spare parts, but also the training, to the Bwindi Bicycle Program in rural Uganda that trains women to repair and maintain bikes, just one of many local organizations supported by Working Bikes.

“The focus is really on employment for the ladies,” Clarke said. “They set up the shops, we help provide the training, we continue to provide the bikes—and the ladies who were trained eight years ago train this new group for a new shop.”

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: Veterinarian’s Simple Question Inspires Wave of Donations of IV Fluids That Would Normally Be Thrown Away

100,000 of the 150,000 bikes refurbished by the Working Bikes team have gone to these overseas difference-makers. They arrive unridable, but with the training and tools to repair them. Each bike is then sold for prices relevant to the local economy, and many of these partners provide microloans to perspective buyers.

WATCH the story from CBS below… or for viewers outside the US, WATCH HERE…

SHARE These Wheels Of Philanthropy With Your Friends…