A few moments of joy this week in no particular order (and not all pictured)…

★ Gathering with 36 BWorks riders of all ages for our Balloon Glow adventure

★ Sharing dream-bike drawings at City Garden on Day 2 of Earn-A-Bike

★ Arriving to work this morning to surprise coffee and donuts from dedicated volunteers

★ Decorating helmets at Patrick Henry elementary school in advance of bikes arriving

★ Realizing a puzzle bike got put *nearly* back together correctly by a team of Humboldt students (can you spot the single mixup on the pink bike? :-))

★ Meeting some of our soon-to-be Earn-A-Bike students at the International Institute

This week’s activities included 14 BWorks staff and volunteer teachers running 12 classes at seven different locations: four schools, a rec center, a library and, of course, at our headquarters! At the shop, our amazing mechanical crews refurbished dozens of bikes and computers that in just a few weeks are headed home with graduating BWorks students — and also pushed through a lot of transport, organization and other logistics required to make this magic happen. Meanwhile, helpers at our partnering entities assisted tirelessly as well, helping inspire these great kids to pursue their dreams, care for the world around them and explore new possibilities through experiential learning. We’re grateful for this growing village and appreciate your support!

We hit the ground running after Labor Day weekend, launching the first of our in-school Earn-A-Bike courses for the semester at two SLPS elementary schools this week! We also got to meet seven new Learn-To-Ride students, and then 32 more new students on the Earn-A-Bike and Earn-A-Computer side of things in Soulard and at Bellefontaine Rec Center. Our latest U. City and Granite City cohorts worked on safety and some helmet-decorating skills as they entered week three of their six-week programs, and the bike shop was hopping during our public hours Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We’re closing out the week grateful for everyone who helped make these efforts and many more a success, from our dedicated students and families, to our volunteers and staff, to our donors. Happy Saturday, all!

It was too nice to be inside more than necessary over the past week! Fortunately, our Earn-A-Bike, Learn-To-Ride and Earn-A-Computer classes and other activities had us rolling here and there and everywhere anyway. In some cases our teachers were able to bike to class, only to do even more biking with the kids upon arrival in a couple cases! Our mechanical team paused from their tireless work one afternoon to dream big about BWorks’ next chapter while others even pedaled downtown to attend local government meetings and make new friends! We also made progress on our #bikebus planning for the fall semester , and continued to prepare for our in-school education programs that kick off at five schools this coming month