Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky O’Mara.
Becky, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2008, Tim and I moved into Adair Park, a historic neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta. We were looking for a cheap place to live intown, and Adair Park had the neighborhood bones that we loved (and could afford). Like so many in-town neighborhoods, Adair Park had its challenges. As we began renovating their house, we would watch local gangs gather and fight in the neighborhood park. It became apparent that the park was virtually unusable by families. Violence, drugs, prostitution, and crime dominated this little neighborhood to the point where small children couldn’t play on the playground.
One day, an opportunity presented itself to help a young girl earn money for new tires for her worn out bike. After a few weeks of doing chores around our yard, she had earned enough for the tires. We surprised her with a new bike (it was almost the same price as new tubes and tires!). She rode off over the moon happy. Twenty minutes later she was back with friends and said, “They want bikes too!”
Everyone wanted to know how they too could earn a bike. Eventually, an idea began to germinate: very few of these children had bikes, but in the suburbs, many previously enjoyed bikes were collecting dust and rust in garages and basements. Why not ask friends for their old bikes? What if those old bikes could find new homes in the lives of the children of Adair Park?
We began asking friends for old bikes. There we so many out there! We’d fix them up, and initially, the way kids earned bikes was by picking up 5 bags of trash off of the streets. Litter was a major problem in the neighborhood. It grew and grew. We were building relationships with kids throughout the neighborhood, and connecting them with other positive adult role models in the neighborhood. Some Saturdays we’d have 20 kids in our driveway fixing up their bikes.
Eventually, we moved into a rented space on the corner of the neighborhood. The program has now evolved so that kids earn bikes by logging time at the shop learning how to build and fix bikes. They then trade in their points earned to “buy” bikes.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We’ve intentionally grown the program slowly over the last 9 years. We did not want to impose a solution to an issue that was not valid or needed. We’ve continually looked to the kids and the neighborhood to validate what we do. In that way, the road has been fairly smooth.
The hardest struggles we face are when we see kids make poor choices in their lives and struggle because of it. Atlanta’s Westside can be a tough place to grow up. Kids are often struggling in school, and crime and drugs are prevalent. We want to see every child succeed, so when something happens and they head down the wrong path, we’re devastated.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We give kids the opportunity to earn a bike of their own and along the way, create an environment and experiences in which they can develop skills and character.
Our program is rooted in facilitating the learning of mechanics, hard skills, soft skills and character strengths. We have found in our work that soft skills and character are just as essential as education in a student’s success, both in and after school. But you don’t learn how to be responsible from a textbook. We need environments in which we can develop these skills on our own, and adults around us that can affirm and guide. The bikes provide the ideal environment for developing character strengths such as grit, responsibility and confidence, among others.
As kids graduate from our youth program, they can apply to participate in our Advanced Job Training program for high schoolers. Our Advanced Program offers teens and young adults employment opportunities within the shop. This program is designed to elevate employability skills and to increase character strengths needed for successful long-term employment.
Finally, we also sell bikes, offer bike repair services as well as an open workspace to the community so that adults can buy used bikes at great prices or use the space to keep their bikes in working order.
Pricing:
- Bikes range from $40-$400 in price.
Contact Info:
- Address: 982 Murphy Avenue SW
Atlanta, GA 30310 - Website: bearingsbikeshop.org
- Phone: 404-484-4180
- Email: info@bearingsbikeshop.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/bearingsbike
- Facebook: facebook.com/bearingsbike
- Twitter: twitter.com/bearingsbike
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
