Here is the July shop schedule:
Sundays – July 6, 13, 20, and 27 – noon to 4 PM
Tuesdays – July 8, 22, and 29 – 7 PM to 9 PM (closed July 15)
Thursdays – July 10, 24, and 31 – 7 PM to 9 PM (closed July 17)
We also will be doing a recycling event in Fridley on Saturday, July 26.
We have been busy lately at the shop. We managed to catch up all the orders on our wait list, so we have reopened it for requests. We also have sold a lot of bicycles in the last month, as well as made two pickups from Coon Rapids and did the Centerville recycling event. Our garages are stuffed. We took a huge load of 80 bicycles out to Free Bikes 4 Kidz. They have secured some top secret warehouse space in Eden Prairie where these bicycles will be stored until their repair season starts. We plan to take another load out to them sometime near the end of July.
The bicycle give away count is up to 273. We are well ahead of our minimum goal of 1 per day, but it will take a bit of work to beat our 2012 record of 755. We just keep plugging away at the orders. There have also been a few changes made at the shop – Mr. Michael finally had time to install the ceiling fans, and they make things a lot more comfortable in the shop on those hot days. Our sales have been great, which means our charity contributions will be healthy. We are giving 10% of all income from the shop to charity this year, and our volunteers help us to select the recipients. The first quarter we gave the money to the ALS Society to honor the late wife of one of our volunteers. The quarter 2 money will be split between two animal charities – one for cats and one for dogs. I love sending out those checks. We haven’t selected our quarter 3 charity yet.
If you get a chance, be sure to stop by the shop and meet the crew. If you want to volunteer, we can most likely find you something to do even if you are not a mechanic. We have some parts that need sorting, and our sale garage always needs straightening. We deeply appreciate the efforts of all our volunteers, and we also appreciate all the customers who buy our stuff so we can pay the bills. A huge thanks to all of you. Hope to see you soon at the shop.