Englewood Bike Clininc celebrates 1 year

The Englewood Bike Clinic celebrated its one-year anniversary on March 5th. The free bicycle repair clinic is open on the first Tuesday of each month from 10am to noon at the Jubilee Center to service those who need repairs. For many, a bicycle is their only means of transportation which creates a hardship when the bicycle is unusable. The clinic is staffed by volunteers who provide the tools, bike parts, and knowledge to assist the bicyclist in making the needed repairs.
The Englewood Bike Clinic is a good example of a need being recognized in the community and groups, and individuals working together to come up with a solution and implement it. In a Community Health Action Team (CHAT) public meeting, the need was voiced for a way for campers (those without a permanent home) to travel to appointments, the Community Care Clinic, jobs, etc. The Reverend Vickie McDonald and St. David’s Episcopal Church graciously offered space for the clinic and storage space for bicycles to be given to those in need. Over the past year, the demand for the bike clinic’s services have grown by campers as well as the general public who are also welcome to bring their bikes in need of repair. The dedicated volunteers assist and teach the attendees how to do the repairs themselves.
The Community Health Action Team is a public group under the Sarasota Department of Health that seeks to discover the unmet health-related needs in Englewood and develop solutions to meet them. Besides CHAT and St. David’s, EPIC Community Resource Center is also a bike clinic partner. If you have a bicycle in working order that you would like to donate, contact The Jubilee Center, Monday through Wednesday, 10am to noon, at 941•681•3550. Pictured here at the celebration are (l-r): Rev. Vickie McDonald, Andre McClerklin, Sarasota Dept. of Health, Laura Roy Fink, Jubilee Center administrator, and Ronnie Jackson, EPIC Community Resource Center.