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Name:
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Date:
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BikeHouseVolunteerGuide
WelcometotheBikeHouse.We’regladyou’rehere.Youmightnotknowityet,butyouhavenearlyeverythingyouneedtohelpusteachpeopleaboutbikes.Thisguideandafewdaysatclinicswillgiveyoutherest.
TheBasics
Mission
Statement 
Ourmissionistobuildaspacewhereallpeoplecanworkon,learnabout,andenjoybikes.Toachieveourmission,werunacommunity-basedbicyclerepairshopinWashington,DC.Theshopprovidesacentralspaceforsharingtools,parts,andexpertise,andfacilitatesaffordable,hands-onlearningforpeopleofallbackgroundsandskilllevels.
Volunteering
attheBikeHouse
We’reallvolunteersattheBikeHouseandbelievevolunteeringshouldbeeasyandfun.VolunteershelpattheBikeHouseforalotofreasons:tolearnmoreaboutbikes,tomeetnewpeople,tosharewithothersandtomakeourcommunitystronger.Asavolunteer,youcanexpecttodoallthesethings.VolunteersalsomaketheBikeHousebetter.We’realllearninghowtodowhatwedoandcanalwaysusenewideasandenergy.Thisisn’tonlyaboutbikes,butaboutcreatinganenvironmentwherepeoplecanlearnmoreandhavemorefuntogether.Weexpectyoutodothistoo.
 
What we do – Saturday Clinics
OurSaturdayclinicsarethefocalpointofourwork.TheclinicshappeneverySaturdayfrom12-3pmbehindQualiaCoffeeinPetworth.Peoplecometoourclinicsto:
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Askadviceandgethelpfromourvolunteers
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Fixtheirownbicycles
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Meetotherbikersinthearea
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LearnaboutbikinginDCNeitherourguestsnorourvolunteersarerequiredtohavemaintenanceexpertise.Whatisrequiredisthewillingnesstocontributetoasafe,positivelearningspace,whichmeanssettingagoodexamplewithpersonalbehaviorandhelpingothersdothesame.Guestscomewithalllevelsofbicyclerepairskillsandinterest.Ourgoalistomatchpeoplewhowanttolearnwithpeoplewhowanttoshareknowledge.Ideally,peoplewhospendtimelearningwithuswillpasswhattheylearnontootherswhetherasavolunteerattheBikeHouseorelsewhere.
Howwehelp
Guestscometoourclinicstodoeverythingfrominflatingtheirtirestobuildingentirebikesfromscratch.Dependingwhateachpersonneeds,we’rehappytoteacharepair,lendouttoolsandmaterials,ordirectthemtoalocalbikeshopformoreassistance.Wegenerallydon’tencouragelong-termprojectsattheBikeHousebecausewehavelimitedtimeandspace,butifsomeoneisreallyreadyforachallenge,goforit.Justkeepinmindthatwewanttomakesureourguestsarehappyandtheirbikeswholeby3pm.
 
Toolsandmaterials
Wehaveallthebasictoolsattheclinic(thinkwrenches,screwdrivers,wirecutters,files,etc.)andseveralmorebike-specifictoolslikechainwhipsandcrank-pullers.Ourthreebikestandsmakefixingbikesmucheasier,asdoesourtruingstandforstraighteningwheels.Wedon’thavemanypartsexceptafewdisposablethingslikeextratubes,cablesandhousing.Werecommendthatpeoplebringtheirownparts.Also,wehavecleaningsuppliesandbasiclubesandoils.WestoreallofthesetoolsandpartsinthebasementofQualiaduringtheweekandpullthemupatthebeginningofeachclinic.
RunningtheClinic
Ourclinicdependsonthesupportofallourvolunteersandseveralkeyroles:
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Host:
Thehostservesafocalrolemakingsurethattheclinicopensandclosesontime,mechanicsareoccupied,andguestsaresatisfied.Moreinformationontheclinicsetup,below.
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LeadMechanics:
Weoftenhaveafewninjamechanicsaroundwhocanproblem-solvealltypesofrepairs.Thisisnotaformalrole,butagoodresourcetoknowabout.Leadmechanicsoftenjumparoundfromprojecttoprojectratherthanfocusingsolelyononeperson.
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Volunteers
:Volunteersteachbikerepairs!Volunteersmayeitherworkwithoneguestatatimeorinagroupofseveralguests.Newvolunteerssometimesliketostartbyshadowingothervolunteers.
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Joel
:JoelistheownerofQualiaCoffeeshopsohissupportiscriticalfortheworkthatwedo.Heletsusruntheclinicinhisbackparkinglotoutofthegoodnessofhisheart,soitisveryimportantthatwerespecthisspace.IfJoelmakesarequestofyouatanypoint,pleasemakesuretheclinichosthasheardtherequestandthattheproblemissolved.
 
SaturdayClinicRoles:TheHost
Thehosthasanumberofdutiesbothduringandsurroundingtheclinic.Here’saquickrundownofwhatyouwoulddoasahost:
Beforetheclinic
,sendanemailtoallBikeHousevolunteersannouncingtheweekendeventsandforpeopletosignup.Checkthesign-upbeforetheclinictomakesurewehaveenoughpeople,andiftherearefew,roundupsomemoremore.
ClinicSetUp:
Arriveat11:45andsayhellotoJoel.Whentheothervolunteersstarttoarrive,worktogethertobringupallthematerialsfromthebasement,includingtent,stands,tools,cleaningsupplies,andsomeparts.Alsomakesurethatagarbagebagisplacedinaprominentlocation(Joeldoesn’tlikeustousehisgarbagebins)andthedonationbinvisible.
DuringtheClinic,
thehostservesmultipleroles:
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Helpguestslearn:
Greetnewguestsandmakethemfeelwelcome.Whensomeonearrives,askiftheguesthaseverbeentothecoopbeforeandhowtheylearnedaboutus.Thenhavetheguestsigninontheclipboardandtellyouabouttheirbike.Oneyouhaveasenseoftheproblemstobesolved,findamechanicwhocanhelp.Ifthere’sawait,puttheguestinagroupwithotherslearningsimilarthings.Ifpeoplearelearning,peoplearehappy.
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Helpmechanicsteach:
Sincethehostsometimeshasabestviewofeachclinic,itisonthehosttomakesurethatalltheguestsarelearningandhappy.Sometimesthismightinvolvehelpingthemechanicsslowdownandbebetterteachers.Checkinandasktheguestwhats/heislearning-thisprovidesanopportunityforourgueststoteachandreallycementwhatthey’velearned!
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Watchtheclock:
Makesureyoukeepyoureyeonthetimeandaskthelate-arrivinggueststobedonearound3pm.Thismakesforhappiermechanicsandguestsalike.
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DocumenttheAction:
Makeanoteofanyneededitemssuchassupplied,missingtools,orotherideastomaketheclinicssmoother.Alsokeeptrackofanyfunstoriesorbigsuccesses–thosearefuntosharelater.Ifyouhaveacamera,takepicturesforourwebsite.YoucansendallthisinformationouttotheBikeHouselistservaftertheclinic.
Aftertheclinic:
Thehosthasafewmorethingstotakecareofwhentheclinicisover.Afterputtingallthetoolsandmaterialsinthebasement,assignsomeonetodatabasetheguestnamesandgetthefinancestoourfinancesclerk,currentlyFhar.Ifyouhavetime,sendoutanemailtotheBikeHousevolunteerslistwithanygoodstoriesorinsightsfromtheday,includingpictures.
SaturdayClinicRoles:NewVolunteers
Asanewvolunteer,youmayeitherworkdirectlywithguestsorshadowanothervolunteer,dependingonyourcomfortteachingandfixingbikes.Whenyoucometotheclinicasanewvolunteer,besuretodothefollowing:
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Introduceyourselftothehost.
Letthehostknowwhatprojectsyouarecomfortablewithandwhatskillsyouwouldliketolearn.Ifyouwouldliketohelpwithrepairs,askthehostifthere’ssomeoneinneed.Ifyouwouldliketoshadowanothermechanic,askthehosttopairyouwithapersonorproject.
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Putonanapron.
Thisidentifiesyouassomeonewhocanhelp.
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Getteaching.
Teachingcanbeintimidatingatfirstbutthesooneryoustarttheeasieritwillget.Remember,youcanalwaysaskothervolunteersandguestsifyoudon’tknowhowtodoarepairjustyet.
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KeepLearning
.Buildoutyourtoolsetofbikerepairsbyobservingnewprojects.Allofourvolunteershaveadifferentsetoffixingtoolsandcanlearnalotfromeachother.
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Improvewhatwedo.
PleasefeelfreetotaketheinitiativetoimprovetheBikeHouseafteryoucheckinwithothervolunteersaboutit.
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