Community MVP: BYKE Collective combines bike culture with youth enrichment
BALTIMORE -- A local organization is merging Baltimore's bike culture with youth enrichment.
"Young people have bikes virtually the same day that they're born," said Jasper Barnes, executive director of the Baltimore Youth Kinetic Energy (BYKE) Collective. "It's a big deal for them to have bikes."
But the BYKE Collective is more than just a bicycle distributor. This youth enrichment program is transforming lives in Baltimore by combining leadership training, emotional development, and bike mechanics.
"Young people can come to our mobile unit, earn credit to earn a bike in the future, or they could just come hang out, chill, play, have snacks, hang out with us," the Barnes explained. "For us to ensure that young people have safe bikes ride for them to understand the basic mechanics of making sure that bike stays intact so that they're riding in the streets as safely as possible is really important."
The BYKE Collective's program isn't just about bikes, it's also about relationships and community engagement.
"We focus on leadership skills, social emotional development, and we integrate that in bike mechanics and bike repairs," said Barnes. "And also helps them develop relationships with their friends or run around the community and get that exercise and just you know, you part of the world."
The organization also seeks to provide employment opportunities for youth, and peer mentorship.
"Some of the biggest things we've seen is that we've been able to integrate youth employment opportunities," the spokesperson said. "We hire on young people from the city between the ages of 14 to 21, to serve in leadership roles. And it's really important to have peer-to-peer mentors that are more in proximity to your age."
For those interested in learning more about the Bike Collective or supporting their mission, visit their website, or follow them on Instagram.