Kickstand believes in the power of collaboration and community engagement to drive change. This is a journey where we build bridges, forge alliances, and work together to make a lasting difference in the communities we serve. Here are some of our current community partnerships:
Welcome Wheels
Since 2022, Kickstand Community Bikes and Rainbow Refugee Society have proudly partnered to deliver Welcome Wheels, a campaign to match refurbished bicycles with Rainbow Refugee newcomers.
Welcome Wheels aims to make repair, maintenance, and the ownership of a bicycle financially accessible to Rainbow Refugee Newcomers. Kickstand will match, measure and refurbish bikes for Rainbow Refugee Newcomers and provide them with the helmets, lights and locks necessary to get them on the road.
This campaign is funded through donations from the community. If you would like to support this programming, consider donating.
Bikes for Families
In 2023-24, Kickstand and the Aboriginal Mother Centre Society (AMCS) are delivering the Bikes for Families project. The project aims to empower the families who reside at the AMCS by providing them with bicycles, building storage for their bicycles, and facilitating educational workshops for basic bike maintenance and how to ride a bike.
This project is supported by Bike Kitchen and PEDAL Society and is funded by a City of Vancouver Greenest City Grant and Walk Bike Roll Grant.
ReCyclers
Kickstand’s Gleaners program has been diverting, reducing and reusing bike-related waste since 2021. Through bi-weekly recycling collections, we intercept used parts, bicycles, metal and rubber waste that would otherwise be destined for the landfill.
This program was originally funded by Vancity’s Envirofund Grant in 2021. While we are no longer funded by this grant, Kickstand continues to partner with local commercial bike shops around Vancouver to take care of their recycling in return for their good quality used parts.
Vancouver Community Bike Network
The VCBN is a coalition of community bike shops in Vancouver, BC, that co-operate to share resources and build capacity for a more diverse and inclusive cycling community. The VCBN includes Kickstand, Our Community Bikes and The Bike Kitchen.