EXEMPLARY SOCIAL SERVICES
HOSTED BY SACRED PLACES
Neighborhood Bike Works
at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village
by Ann de Forest
Sean Betts, 15, has always been interested in how things
work. He took his first bicycle apart when he was 9 years
old. The results weren’t pretty. “I didn’t really know how
to put it back together,” he shakes his head, remembering.
Now Sean is a whiz at bike mechanics. Many weekdays
after school, Sean can be found in the basement of the
parish hall of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Hamilton
Village (Philadelphia, PA) keeping his racing bike in peak
condition. Neighborhood Bike Works, an innovative youth
development program housed at St. Mary’s, has given him a
place – along with tools and guidance – to hone his skills and
cultivate his curiosity.
as well, as storage for the used bikes and parts sold under the
auspices of the archly named Divine Bike Church, to earn
money for NBW’s youth development programs.
St. Mary’s Rector Jim Littrell jokes about the multitudes
of bicycles hidden underneath his sanctuary, “I think they
party there and have progeny.” “With any other landlord,”
Dyson jokes back, “we would have gotten thrown out a long
time ago.” He appreciates the church’s willingness to put
up with a bunch of noisy, sometimes unruly teenagers.
“They don’t have to be taking these risks with their beautiful
building. They’re helping us by having us here.”
Since 1996, Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW) has
introduced kids like Sean to a world of opportunities through
bicycles. In after-school, weekend, and summer classes,
youth ages 8-18 come from West Philadelphia and beyond
to participate in NBW’s Earn-a-Bike program, where they
learn about bike safety and repair. After fixing up used bikes
donated by the community, participants graduate with a bike
of their own, a helmet, and a lock.
“It’s trash to treasure,” NBW’s Executive Director Andy
Dyson* says of the program’s simple philosophy. The kids
involved get a sense of true accomplishment in transforming
broken-down bikes into a fun and functional means for
getting around town – their own personal treasure they get
to take home and keep. “You get rewarded for learning,” says
Dyson. “You’re learning that learning itself has its rewards.”
The “trash to treasure” philosophy could also describe
NBW’s transformation of St. Mary’s parish hall basement
into a colorful, lively workspace. The basement presents a
scene of ordered clutter, with every surface a variation on
the theme of bicycles. Tires, tubes, handlebars, and other
bones of bicycle skeletons hang from the ceiling and walls.
Bright murals painted in collaboration with the city’s Mural
Arts Program feature Lance Armstrong and Major Taylor,
an African-American cyclist who in the 1890s defied Jim
Crow laws to compete, becoming a world-famous racing
champion. Even the banisters are fashioned from bike gears
and handlebars. NBW has colonized the church’s undercroft
*Andy Dyson has since left Neighborhood Bike Works. The
current Executive Director is Kitty Heite.
9 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Spring 2011
A young participant learns about bike repair as part of
Neighborhood Bike Works’ Earn-a-Bike program.