Volunteer At Free Ride
Volunteer Night
Volunteer night is the best way for you to get involved and experience what Free Ride has to offer. The overarching goal of volunteer night is the preparation for open shop activities, which requires the shop to be organized and space efficient. The efforts of our volunteers are greatly appreciated and we strive to make sure you feel that your time helping us out in the shop is worth it. Free Ride offers $15 per hour of shop credit to all of our volunteers to be used towards any bicycles, parts, or services offered at our open shop. In addition, we seek to pass on our knowledge to our volunteers. Our shop activities are deliberately designed to educate our volunteers about bicycles and bicycle maintenance.
Volunteer night at Free Ride is a one hundred percent inclusive event. We welcome people of all experience levels to join us in the shop. Even if you have never worked on a bicycle before, we are here to provide guidance and show you the ropes on working with a bicycle. If you share our love and passion for bicycles you will learn in no time!
The best way to get involved? Just stop by during volunteer night hours!
Volunteer night is currently held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6pm-9pm.
Staffers
Outside of volunteer night, Free Ride relies on volunteer staff (“staffers”) to keep the shop open, and to retrieve and process the donations we receive. All of the current Free Ride staff started out by coming to volunteer night and grew into a bigger role within Free Ride.
Staffers are also volunteers, but they have increased responsibilities, which include opening the shop to the general public. Those interested in becoming a Free Ride Volunteer Staffer should inquire while in shop or to our email at freeride15224@gmail.com. Prospective Staffers will complete a short curriculum about the Free Ride Organization and shadow two Volunteer Nights as well as one Open Shop. Upon completing the shadowing requirements, prospective staff members then must complete a short questionnaire (this application is to be used only by those who have already completed shadowing requirements). After completing the questionnaire, prospective staff members are then voted-on by the Free Ride Council. If approved, new volunteer staff members are paired with a Free Ride Mentor who will be their point of contact for all Free Ride-related questions throughout the 90-day probationary period.
NOTE: Bike mechanical skills are not required in order to become a Free Ride staffer.
We have no stringent requirements for experience level to become a Free Ride staffer. The other staffers at Free Ride are here to provide support, answer questions, and help to develop the knowledge of their colleagues. We only ask for folks who are passionate about bicycles and cycling, and who embrace the Free Ride culture of acceptance and inclusivity of others.
See the Free Ride Bicycle Collective Bylaws for more information on staffer (member) eligibility.
Council
The Free Ride Bicycle Collective makes decisions based on the majority vote of a collective council. The Free Ride council is formed by a group of long-time volunteer staffers who are passionate about our mission to provide the community with bicycles and want to contribute their own vision to the organization. One is eligible to become a council member after volunteering 32 hours over the course of 6 months and attending 3 council meetings (see Free Ride Bylaws) after which a written application can be completed and submitted to the current council members.
Council meetings are when the Free Ride collective council meets to discuss important items relating to the current events and future of Free Ride. These meetings occur on the second week of each month, with the day and time subject to change based on availability (see calendar). Council meetings are open to the public, so anyone is welcome to stop in and listen.