Binghampton Build-a-Bike program
Donate the Old, Get a Deal on the New:
Pedaltown Bicycle Company Starts Program to Bring Bikes to Binghampton Adults and Children
In the last two years, Victory Bicycle Studio has donated over 100 adult and children bicycles to the Carpenter Art Garden Bike Shop. However, their sister store, Pedaltown Bicycle Company, is about to take the program to a new level. Their goal is to increase the number of donations by offering trade-in discounts for a new bike.
“More bike donations means more kids and adults can use the bicycles to be healthy and fit,” says Mario Watkins, a volunteer at the Carpenter Art Garden Bike Shop.
With Pedaltown’s new program, customers can trade-in used bicycles they’ve outgrown or no longer ride. They get a 10% discount on a new bicycle in the store, and their old bike is donated to the Carpenter Art Garden Bike Shop.
Pedaltown Bicycle Co – Bike Shop on Broad Ave Memphis TN
Pedaltown Bicycle Company, which opened last summer, is a full-service bike shop in the Broad Avenue Arts District. Located next to Victory Bicycle Studio, both shops are owned by local Memphian Clark Butcher, but while Victory focuses on cycling enthusiasts, Pedaltown honors the everyday rider.
“Every time, the customer is blown away by the idea their bike is going to someone who could use and benefit from it, right here in Binghampton,” says Clark Butcher, owner of Victory Bicycle Studio and Pedaltown Bicycle Company, “You can see the impact of your effort. Your bicycle will be ridden and enjoyed by a student of the Carpenter Art Garden.”
Located at 296 Carpenter Street in Binghampton, The Carpenter Art Garden (CAG) matches volunteers with roughly 70 neighborhood children and adults to provide vocational job training and opportunities. Each Tuesday, they work on art installations, take-home projects, and gardening.
One division, opened in 2016, is The Carpenter Street Workshop. Part of the curriculum includes bicycle mechanics and the Build-a-Bike program where students repair and tune-up bicycles, and then donate them to a child in need.
“It’s a great confidence builder for the young people,” says Lee Evans, Bike Shop Manager at The Carpenter Street Workshop, “We see growth in each child over time.”
CAG is also partnering with Cornerstone/Lester Prep and Victory Bicycle Studio to add bike racks to the property. “We hope the children who have earned bikes will ride to school,” says Erin Harris, Founder and Executive Director of CAG, “But bicycle donations are key to the continued implementation and success of these programs.”
Butcher hopes the program will be an opportunity for parents, children, and the students of Carpenter Art Garden to pay it forward this year.
To learn more about Carpenter Art Garden, go here. To learn more about Pedaltown Bicycle Company and how you can donate your old bike, go here.