Chicago's Working Bikes gets bicycles to people in need at home and worldwide

    CHICAGO (WBBM) -- For more than 25 years, Working Bikes has helped keep tens of thousands of bicycles out of landfills and get them into the hands of people who need them — whether right in Chicago, or thousands of miles away.

But that's not all the team at Working Bikes does. They are also creating economic lifelines for generations.

Trevor Clark took CBS News Chicago through the basement of Working Bikes' headquarters, at 2434 S. Western Ave.

"I think we have about 2,500 bikes, um, that are either stored until we can donate them locally or waiting to be fixed up," Clark said.

The bikes will be fixed up and made to ride like new — thanks to hundreds of volunteers. One of those volunteers is Robert Andrews.

"I ride my bike a lot and fix my bike, so I thought, well, if they need a mechanic, I can probably help out," Andrews said.

Also crucial to the operation are employees like Paco Rubio, who started off in a Working Bikes community mechanic program. When CBS News Chicago met Rubio, he was working on a lowrider mod to an old Schwinn tricycle.

He changed out the wheel set to 144 spokes, and added pedals made of twisted metal and some new fenders — for quite a distinctive look.

Since 1999, Working Bikes has committed to refurbishing 150,000 bikes. While 12% are sold in the Working Bikes storefront, 15% of those go right back to people in Chicago.

"I think there's, there's always a need in Chicago," said Clark. "There are disinvested communities here who really lack access to transportation, and we saw that spike in with the new arrival population, so we had an acute need for people who were just coming to Chicago."

The rest are shipped overseas, to partners in Latin America, Mexico, Albania, and Africa — including Uganda, where Working Bikes has been working with the Bwindi Women Bicycle Project. The project has been empowering women to learn the craft of fixing bicycles since 2017.

"The focus is really on employment for the ladies," Clark said. "They set up the shops, we help provide the training, we continue to provide the bikes — and the ladies who were trained eight years ago train this new group for a new shop. So not only are the bikes economic lifelines for the people who have them, but they're also providing the next generation access to education."

On the Working Bikes loading dock in Chicago, the next shipment to Africa was being packed up with more than 500 bikes, spare parts, and tools when CBS News Chicago visited.

"Our partners need the spares to replace parts when they wear out," Clark said. "So we have some helmets ready to go there, some handlebars that'll go."

Meanwhile, there are still those thousands of bikes back in the basement of Working Bikes.

"We have more bikes right now than we have the wrenches to get them fixed up and out the door," Clark said.

Working Bikes is in constant need of volunteers to keep the wheels spinning. Volunteers do not need experience — Working Bikes will train everyone in basic bike repairs.

Information on volunteering is available at the Working Bikes website.