Bike Works - Programs - Youth Outspoken

Shop Closed :: February 12th :: All day

Annual Auction :: March 25th :: 5-9pm

      EARN-A-BIKE
      BICYCLE LEADERS
      BICYCLE RIDES & TOURING
      OUR SUMMER PLANS
      YOUTH OUT SPOKE'N
      PROGRAM CALENDAR

STERLING QUINN :

Friends of Bike Works may know Sterling as the yo-yo performer from our auction. Or perhaps you know him because you’ve seen him in the hardcourt bike polo scene that’s been exploding around Seattle. Sterling came to Bike Works in 2002 as a nine year old excited about earning a BMX bike. Now we are thrilled to announce that this former youth/yoyo champion/bike polo talent/bike repair pro is joining Bike Works as our newest staff member! Sterling is serving an AmeriCorps term as our Program Assistant, helping to run all of our youth programs for the upcoming year. As an alumnus of many of these programs, Sterling brings valuable personal experience, in addition to his passion for bicycles.

Several years ago, Sterling gave up Bike Works to focus on the world of yoyos. As a senior in high school, he began to commute to high school from across town and wanted a road bike. After completing our Earn-a-Bike program, youth can come to the weekly free drop-in, where they can continue to earn bikes and parts until they turn 18. So Sterling returned. We convinced him to take the Advanced Mechanics Class and began to come around on the weekends for bike polo. He ended up in the Polo Camp that summer and, to our joy, soon signed up for the Advanced Bicycle Tour down the Oregon Coast - 450 miles of some of the hardest, most epic landscape in the West – from Astoria, OR to Crescent City, CA. Sterling has told us that this trip was a life changing experience. “I pushed myself harder than I ever had. This was possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I made new friends, and I got a much needed break from my parents, normal life, and technology. This trip is the best thing I’ve done in so many ways.”

Sterling continues to challenge himself, often on the bike polo court. This summer he was an assistant instructor for our Polo All Day Camp and competed at the Polo World Championships here in Seattle! Of course, Sterling is already a champion to us here at Bike Works and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him join our staff this year .

YOUTH OUT SPOKE'N

The active promotion of participation for young people leads to positive change within our community. This can be done by ensuring more involvement and opportunities for them to have a real say in decision making, and to be involved in real participation - Youth Out Spoke'N is that opportunity here at Bike Works. We involve young people in their community which helps youth to develop new skills and promote links within communities; and it catalyzes future youth involvement in community change.

Over the past six years of Street Burners, even as youth members have come and gone, there has been continual talk among the youth about the hope to see a BMX park in their neighborhood - one in South Seattle. At a Street Burners Meeting in 2006 and through follow-up conversations, we formed a BMX Committee Youth Team made up of 13 Bike Works alumni ranging in age from 11 to 17. Each was asked to make a commitment to the project by their fellow team mates - and agreed to be available for the meetings as well as weekend field trips to represent the project at various community and partnership meetings.

The nearest place for BMXers to practice is our back alley on our homemade ramps. Having recognized that an alley is not an ideal location for long term skill development or for self-esteem development for the youth, Bike Works programs makes it possible to travel with the youth to the nearest locations to our home base - and the neighborhood we serve: Lower Woodland Park BMX jumps in Green Lake which is a 45 min. van ride, or the North Sea-Tac BMX track which is also a 45 min. van ride. These long van rides are made possible by the generous donation of a van by King County in January of 2006, but previous to this gift the program staff at Bike Works would travel the hour and a half one-way bus trip with the youth on a monthly basis.

One day we hope that the South Seattle BMX dream will become a reality. So far, in their advocacy efforts, Bike Works youth have accomplished the following: compiled a list of possible supporters throughout the community; sent out initial outreach letters to that list; conducted site-visits and photo-documentation trips to three local BMX parks and/or potential sites; attended and made public comment at the Lower Woodland Skate park proposal public meeting; designed a petition for support and petitioned at the Cascade Bicycle Club's Bike Expo -collecting almost 100 signatures; presented to the Parks and Recreation Department, and an informal coalition of supporters; prepared a statement for the City of Seattle's Department of Finance Capital Improvements Program; and presented their ideas to the Mayor and group of youth at the Mayor's Youth Town Hall. Quite a list of accomplishments!

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Located in the Heart of Columbia City 3709 South Ferdinand Street, Seattle, WA 98118 • 206.725.9408 • Email: info@bikeworks.org
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