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October 12, 2005
Tonight on the Bike ship
I've been cleaning and organizing the bike shop over the last few weeks. It's a huge operation! More like open heart surgery. But this last week I made huge progress so there is so much space and it's so much cleaner and organized that it has had a positive impact. There are many reasons why I took on these tasks, but one of them has to do with how the space effects the volunteers. A clean and organized space feels good to work in, is easier to work in, accmodates more people, and it's contagious. Right now the workbenches are spotless. If you've ever visted the depot before, you know how this has to feel right now. Tonight after people were done, they all picked up after themselves and cleaned up their messes and parts, etc. It was really cool. And all of the volunteers were working on bikes tonight. Some on their own bikes and some on our bikes. Tonight I felt like we were actually implementing our mission. I felt good about what we were doing. The real results of a good house cleaning will show up in attitude as we rebuild and refocus the organization. At some point people need a fresh start. This is the year of fresh starts.
Instead of thinking of this as a process of changing everything, I think it's more like a process of renewal; refreshing of the spirit, dreams and hopes of everyone who has ever been involved in this program.
Tonight one person wanted to throw an old trophy away that one of our predecessors got for excellence in promoting bicycle commuting. I suggested that it might be good to keep it around, now more prominantly displayed, to remind us of where we came from and that a lot of people put in countless hours of their free time to get this organization to where it's at now. It didn't just happen by itself.
Another guy told me the history of the organization tonight, from his own perspective, as one of the members of the original yellow bike program and how it evolved and changed into what it is now. When the yellow bike program collapsed and the funding dried up, it was almost impossible to maintain. They had to reorganize and consolidate. They had to renew their mission and resolve. So what did we end up with? A non-profit community bike shop that is doing a lot of good things for lower income people and other community organizations. There is a lot more. There really is a lot of potential and hope in renewal. I believe we can all use a fresh start sometimes.
Posted by carl1236 at October 12, 2005 10:42 PM | Attitude
Comments
That sounds great, John. I've been meaning to stop over at the Depot, but I'm really busy this semester. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Dan at October 13, 2005 07:12 AM