Summertime at BWorks means all sorts of fun, learning and service, and the first week of June was full of all three!

From helping to kick off a new Girl Scouts bike club plus a St. Louis Public Library Earn-A-Bike cohort on Monday, to meet-your-new-bike day for our Ferguson students on Tuesday, to celebrating our latest group of Earn-A-Computer graduates and welcoming 12 new Earn-A-Bike students on Thursday, to more classes and events on Friday and Saturday — including our first-ever six-week class in Granite City (shout out to the Agency for Community Transit for funding this effort by the Six Mile Regional Library District!) — it was a week to remember!

BWorks continues to see steady demand for all three of our central programs — Earn-A-Bike, Earn-A-Computer and Learn-To-Ride — and ongoing interest in more such offerings both at BWorks’ headquarters and at partner locations around the region. As we seek to continue to grow our efforts in sustainable and effective ways, BWorks is now accepting applications for bicycle mechanic positions (10 to 20 hours a week to Full Time) beginning in the summer of 2025.

Check out the listing below to learn more about the job and how to apply.

Got a question about this opportunity? Email our executive director, Patrick Van Der Tuin, at patrick@bworks.org.

This is a flexible position! We are accepting applications for everything from a few hours  (10 to 20 hours per week) up to full time service manager position, to support the needs of the BWorks bicycle shop. While BWorks has made an effort to provide a general description of the duties and tasks of this position, this is not a comprehensive job description. Tasks and duties may be modified at any time.

The shop-support portion of this role involves assisting with bike production in order to support BWorks programs. A central, ongoing task is the mechanical repair of donated bicycles that go on to be chosen and received by children who are completing Earn-A-Bike programs throughout the calendar year. Other responsibilities include assisting with customers, sales and inventory in our nonprofit retail bike shop, among other tasks.

This position is based at BWorks’ headquarters (2414 Menard Street) but at times will require local travel within the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Qualifications
Potential candidates must possess:

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Enthusiastic passion to achieve the BWorks mission
• Flexibility to change direction quickly as required by operational needs
• Clean driving record

Preference will be given to candidates that also possess the following:

• Experience as a bicycle mechanic
• Experience with older bicycles

Three-month probationary period
Employees of BWorks go through a three-month probationary period to ensure the mutual compatibility of employment by BWorks, with review at the end of the probationary period.

Compensation

This positions starting pay is $18 per hour for part time employees and is adjustable depending on applicants’ experiences and knowledge for full time positions and managers roles. After 12 months of employment, an increase in compensation may be negotiated based on good performance, and every spring from there forward.

How to apply to be BWorks’ next mechanic

Apply online by submitting a cover letter that communicates your vision for the role you could play at BWorks (and a sense of your hoped-for hours and weekly availability), a detailed resume, and at least two professional references to St. Louis BWorks’ executive director, Patrick Van Der Tuin, at Patrick@bworks.org, by May 31, 2024.

It’s that time of year when things really start moving at BWorks — so much so we skipped last week’s post! But worry not; here is a recap with some great pictures from the past two weeks. It all adds up to some amazing joy, learning and memories.

1 Grant’s Trail / Farm alumni adventure

+ 1 Dream Machine test-ride celebration after a semester-long collab with Wash U

+ 1 Learn-To-Ride kickoff (our first-ever LTR course in Forest Park!)

+ 2 Safety Assemblies with kids at elementary schools on how to bike safely

+ 2 free mechanical youth days at two more elementary schools in the region

+ 2 tabling events

+ 4 bike buses (read all about it at St. Louis Magazine! → https://tinyurl.com/2nm8s387)

+ 5 Learn-To-Ride class sessions

+ 6 Earn-A-Computer classes

+ 7 Earn-A-Bike classes

… and so many meetings for everything from fall program partners, to a new home, new events, staff additions and more = a very exciting springtime for the BWorks community!

Kudos to all of the great children and teens, our dedicated volunteers and staff, and our amazing donors for keeping us rolling. Want to join in our parade? Email info@bworks.org.