Tasmanian Bike Collective News #1-2023
March 29, 2023
Dear Friends and Supporters...
Exciting news this month... growth and change!
What's inside:
We have new staff!
Two years ago, there were just two of us. Ant is, of course, continuing in his role as CEO. Kev's role has changed to manage volunteer support, our hire bikes (available for all community groups to hire) and bike sales.
This has created a need for Program Managers to run the workshops at Clarence Plains and Risdon Vale.
So now there are six of us!
Allow us to introduce Duncan Giblin, the new Program Manager at Clarence Plains; Andy Fitzgerald, the new Program Manager at Risdon Vale; and Paul Chilton, who will be co-managing at the Huon Valley collective.
Read on...
Risdon Vale BC
Andy Fitzgerald
Andy joins the Bike Collective team after a long career with the State Government, several years of experience with his own domestic IT support business and four years in the construction industry as a Site Supervisor.
He enjoys outdoor activities including motorcycling, road bike riding and mountain biking - in short, anything with two wheels! Andy enjoys learning new skills and imparting these skills to others. He also hopes to help improve the lives of others through his own life experiences.
Clarence Plains BC
Duncan Giblin
To many people in the mountain biking scene, Duncan needs no introduction. He has long been involved in event organisation for huge events like the Hellfire Cup, the Kellevie 24 hours, ..... Duncan also has many years' experience in social services, working in particular with disadvantaged young people.
He has a deep understanding of the issues facing young people and a deep well of experience from which to draw. To top it all off, he is also a fine photographer whose work has even graced a Violent Femmes album cover!
Huon Valley BC
Paul Chilton
And finally, Paul is well known to us at the Huon Valley Bike Collective. He has worked with us almost since the start as a bike donations collection volunteer.
Paul Chilton is a renewable energy engineer and furniture maker with a passion for sustainability. He brings more than 10 years experience in both engineering and furniture making to the Huonville Bike Collective.
When he's not working, Paul loves exploring the world on his bike - one of his favourite experiences was spending six weeks cycling around Iceland! He's excited to combine his skills and passions in a more community-oriented role.
We all love a good Shout-Out.
At TasBC, we are always wanting to share the good news of the businesses and individuals who support our work.
But then there are some who just blow our minds... like Audrey Coffee.
In July 2022, Audrey committed to giving a small portion of every coffee sold for 6 months to TasBC. The result? Audrey have just donated over $4,500!
If you really needed a good reason to visit Audrey for your next coffee, there you have it.
Thank you so much, Audrey!
The Huon Valley Bike Collective holds a special place in our hearts.
This was the first time we took the model that had been established and developed over many years at Risdon Vale, and we translated it to a new location.
We held a public meeting and the local community showed up in droves - individuals, organisations, businesses... and the Huon Valley Community Banks (which most people know as the Bendigo Bank).
In that first year, this local community bank supported us by sponsoring the purchase of all our workshop tools, benches and storage.
Last year, their incredible support continued in the form of sponsoring a number of young people's places in our programs.
And (here's the punchline) they are sponsoring an entire 3rd day of operation, every school week of 2023 and 2024.
That's a 50% increase in the number of young people able to benefit from what the Bike Collective has to offer!
We've even had to find a new staff member (see above) to help carry the load. What a great problem to have.
So Thank You to the people of the Huon Valley community, and Thank You to the Huon Valley Community Bank.
BREWLAB
So you know how we partnered with Audrey Coffee?
Well, the guys at Brewlab reached out to us back in January and asked if we'd be keen to partner with them as well!
Brewlab Has a Tassie focus on showcasing good food, coffee and wine, as well as the craft brews; all in their Brew Café located in Goodwood.
Brewlab are supporting the Risdon Vale Bike Collective by donating $2 from every sale of Loaded Potatoes in April. Yep! That’s right... $2 per serve!
Get along and treat yourselves to their offerings, and support local businesses who support our local community!
All this talk about partnering...
What does it mean for you and your business?
Here's what the people at Audrey had to say when we sought their feedback:
How was your experience partnering with the Tas Bike Collective?
What have you valued most about being able to support the Tas Bike Collective?
Partnering with the Tasmanian Bike Collective means linking your business with a proven, effective organisation making a real difference in the lives of young people and the wider community.
And we will do everything we can to support you in return!
Up until now, it's always been a bit tricky to come and see us at the workshops and check out our bikes or parts for sale.
There are good reasons for this, as we prioritise working towards a better future with the young people in our crews.
But we've recognised we need to accommodate our customers more so we've come up with a plan...
Starting from 2nd May, we are now going to be open at Risdon Vale EVERY TUESDAY DURING SCHOOL TERMS. We'll be on board from 10am to 6pm, so you can get to us after work.
We'll also be open over school holidays but this will vary a bit, and our Sale Days will still happen roughly once per quarter.
So... if you need a new bike, but it doesn't have to be a NEW bike, then come and see us!
By the way, you can check out what we've currently got in stock on our Facebook page.
Here's the link:
https://tinyurl.com/tasbcsales
And if you're keen to get in touch to see if we can find you something in particular, jump on our web page and drop us a line using the form you'll find at the bottom of the page:
https://www.tasbc.com.au/buy-a-bike
Thanks for your support!
A bicycle chain is made up of lots of small links. When the links are all joined together, the bike can move forward. When there are more links, the chain gets longer, and you can use more gears to climb higher. It's simple!
It works the same way with donations. We have a number of regular donors who give as little as $5/week (that's one coffee!). All those little $5 donations are like chain links.
They join up and allow us to climb higher: we can reach out wider, expand and enhance our programs, and reach more young at-risk Tasmanians. Why not add your own link to the chain? Click below!
Don't forget: all donations to TasBC are tax deductible - straight after 30 June you'll be sent a full year's receipt for you to claim on your tax return. So easy!
Sure! I can contribute $5/month to the Bike Collective's work!
See? as always, short and sweet...
Check us out on the web at www.tasbc.com.au or
on Facebook: facebook.com/tasbikecollective
...or email us at hello@tasbc.com.au
All the best,
the TasBC staff and crew
November 17, 2023
Exciting news this month... People and Events!
Read more →June 21, 2023
Brewlab collaboration, Impact, The Devil's Cardigan & more!
Read more →December 9, 2022
What's inside: Nice racks!, A link in the chain, A REALLY big bike ride, New boardies, Support those who support us
Read more →All financial donations support our programs, helping at-risk young people achieve their potential. We are incredibly thankful for any contribution you can make.
How to give →Give now →Learn more about what the Bike Collectives focus on, our core activities and how we use bikes to make a difference in the lives of young people.
Our Bike Collective at Risdon Vale is the original and long standing program.
Since starting in 2021, Huon Valley was the first of our new Collectives.
Having kicked off in 2022, Clarence Plains is our newest Collective.
