Orioles Bike Cage
Volunteer
Handbook
Welcome to the Orioles Bike Cage!
The Orioles Bike Cage (OBC) is a bicycle collective in the West-End area of that most Canadian of Canadian cities - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
OBC Volunteer Handbook Contents
- Pamphlets
- Greeter Materials
- Workshop Handouts
Services
The Orioles Bike Cage strives to make cycling and cycling knowledge accessible to all,
especially people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it, by offering access to tools, help, and parts for people to fix their own bike or to build one out of recycled frames and parts.
There are no set-rate charges associated with these services, but donations of bike parts, money (pay-what-you-can), or in-kind labour are encouraged.
The OBC periodically offers workshops on maintenance and repairs.
Hours (Current as of 30 May 2009)
Monday: N/A Closed
Tuesday: 6-9 pm Open shop hours
Wednesday: N/A Closed
Thursday: 6-9 pm Volunteers Only (Orientation, Clean-up and Workshops)
Friday: N/A Closed
Saturday: 9 am - 1 pm Open shop hours
Sunday: N/A Closed
Location
The Orioles Bike Cage is located at the Valour (Orioles) Community Centre at 444 Burnell Street (at intersection with St. Matthews, one block west of Arlington Street) in the West End of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Organization
The Orioles Bike Cage is run as a collective. All members and workers are volunteers.
There is a core collective of roughly 10 people who make decisions by consensus,
and another half-dozen casual volunteers. Membership in the core collective is open
to anyone who has volunteered two shifts in a month and attended one
collective meeting.
There are subcommittees to deal with finances, workshops, outreach, volunteer coordination, triage, and the space which are made up of core collective members. Membership in the committees rotates informally. The collective tries to be responsive to its own needs, the needs of the other volunteers, and the needs of people using the space.
In addition to greeters and mechanics, the Orioles Bike Cage needs volunteers for various critical activities to keep the shop tidy and running smoothly. Please let us know if you are interested in helping with general clean-up, doing call-arounds, organizing fundraisers, sorting parts, writing proposals for grants/funding, doing shop maintenance, designing logos/graphics, creating/maintaining web pages or anything else. Contact the volunteer coordinator to have your name put on the volunteer contact list when we need help.
History
The Orioles Bike Cage is a community-owned bicycle collective sponsored by the West Central Commuter Cyclists (WC3) advocacy group in partnership with the Daniel McIntyre-St Matthews Community Association (DMSMCA) at the Orioles Site of the Valour Community Centre. The Orioles Bike Cage got its name from the metal mesh walls and platforms in its assigned storage space in the Valour (Orioles) Community Centre. The OBS shop is located in the "Cabana" annex next to the Wading Pool (north of the hockey rink).
The Orioles Bike Cage initiative began with community focus groups in 2008 that identified the need for a community-owned bicycle repair station. With a start-up grant from the DMSMCA, a core group of volunteers set-up the allocated spaces, purchased tools and equipment, and developed an volunteer organization for bicycle repair. The Orioles Bicycle Cage opened its doors for operation in May 2009, and is one of a handful of bicycle cooperatives in the City of Winnipeg.
OBC Website
www.groups.google.ca/group/OriolesBikeCage
Printed Material
Pamphlets
Greeter Materials
Workshop Handouts
Internet Resources (to name a few)
www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Image:How_to_Fix_Your_Bicycle_1972.pdf