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Walton Bike Project
Walton Bike Project is a social enterprise which refurbishes donated bikes.
These good quality second hand bikes are then sold to the local community at very affordable prices, with the income being reinvested in order to sustain the project.
The Walton Bike Project also offer an extensive repair service.
Prices start at £25 for a basic service that includes a Safety check, assessment and adjustment of brakes, assessment & tuning of gears and adjustment/fitting to customer requirements.
We work with young people and adults from all backgrounds to build confidence, develop life skills and provide work experience.
From the project’s inception, Walton Charity has supported Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership’s Walton Bike Project, providing a Community Grant of £45,000 over a three year period.
The Walton Bike Project was established in 2016 to upcycle donated bikes and provides training to local young people and job seekers.
During the two years that the project has been located in Walton, over 3,000 donated bikes have been refurbished.
The project has also provided over 300 job seekers and young people with training in cycle maintenance skills, with accredited qualifications to increase employment prospects and to empower young people.
Walton Bike Project is located in the Youth Centre in Elm Grove where the Hersham Road meets the one way system in Walton-on-Thames.
We’re at the back of Stagecoach Performing Arts School by the entrance to the recreation ground.
We need volunteers, donations of bicycles and customers for good quality refurbished bicycles.
With The Walton Bike Project, you can:
- volunteer to help run the project – we need all sorts of skills and experience – just ask!
- learn bike maintenance skills
- buy a fully refurbished bike at an affordable price
- find out about safer cycling
Find out more about volunteering with The Walton Bike Project
Our opening times are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 09:00 – 16:00 (closed Wednesdays)
Tel no: 01932 685002
Address:
Walton Youth Centre
Elm Grove
Hersham Road
Walton-on-Thames
KT12 1LH
http://shop.guildfordbikeproject.org.uk/Walton-Project
The Walton Bike Project is part of a wider initiative:
The Surrey Bike Project
“Working with young people and adults to build confidence and develop life skills”
In summary, we take in donations of unwanted bicycles from the general public and fix them up with the help of volunteers, NEETs and jobseekers, whilst at the same time providing training, life skills and work-based experience.
We then sell the refurbished bikes to members of the local community for an affordable price, providing a healthy transport option. In addition, the income from sales of the bikes makes the project sustainable.
The enterprise will use refurbishment of donated bicycles to promote self-reliance and self-confidence by giving young people and jobseekers the opportunity to learn, acquire new skills and gain work experience.
Each participant in the project will also experience the accomplishment of having earned a bike through their own work.
The learning and skills developed through the project will range from office and business skills to bike maintenance skills leading to accreditation.
Two volunteers to the project are being trained to become tutors in the Lifelong Learning sector. Over time it may be possible for those who have developed in confidence and acquired bicycle maintenance qualifications to progress to courses offered by the local college in areas such as motor vehicle or plumbing.
A unique selling point is that by focusing on bicycles we can encourage those who might not otherwise engage, young people and adults alike, to cross boundaries – literally and figuratively.
Cycling can enable exploration beyond one’s immediate neighbourhood by providing a means of independent transportation giving the freedom to travel locally and beyond – to school, college, and work.
It also cuts across social boundaries, enabling people to meet others with like interests that otherwise would not be realised.
The Surrey Bike Project : Mission and Vision
Mission
Our mission is to provide opportunities for those living in the less advantaged areas of Guildford to learn, develop new skills and engage in work through a sustainable community social enterprise.
Vision
To create, within three years, a sustainable social enterprise in which young adults and jobseekers are empowered to increase their life chances and the wellbeing of their local communities, and, at the same time, to promote cycling as a healthy, affordable, environment-friendly form of transportation.
To achieve this vision the Surrey Bike Project will:
- Offer access to learning and skills in the local community though partnership with Guildford College
- Provide a range of volunteering opportunities in an inclusive, non-judgemental and supportive environment
- Create opportunities to develop new skills to enhance employability
- Encourage skill-sharing and independence, where new skills are learned in a way that is empowering for all
- Involve volunteers in setting-up a new business and inspire the creation of other similar initiatives
- Promote access to cycling as an affordable and sustainable transport option
- Divert bicycles and their parts from recycling and landfill
- Encourage healthy lifestyles
Our Guildford project is based in a workshop and office in Guildford Borough Council’s Depot near to the Surrey Advertiser building on the Woking Road.
We’re open on weekdays between 09:30 and 16:00 (except Wednesdays)
Woking Road Depot
Woking Road
Guildford
Surrey GU1 1QE
To find out more, please email or call first – we cannot receive visitors without an appointment
Call us on 01483 570521
Email us at info@guildfordbikeproject.org.uk
http://shop.guildfordbikeproject.org.uk/
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