🚨JUST IN! VIVA LA VIDA VIVA LA BICICLETA SWAG!

The Cycles of Change "Viva la vida viva la bicicleta" shirt design is here! A shirt that celebrates Frida's badassness with a little twist. This years shirt celebrates the artivist in us all when getting on a bike! Power of the Pedal!

Rep your contribution with some Cycles swag! A $100 contribution to our campaign will get you a beautifully screen-printed shirt - printed by Cycles of Change's human hands.

How to get yours pre-ordered:
- Click on "Donate & Tickets" button
- Select Ticket "Viva la Vida" shirt
- Enter shirt size in the comments of your donation
- Finish with your information

If you are out of state, country, or the Bay, we ask that you cover the shipping costs. All locals can pick their shirts up at the Bikery. Aiming to have them all printed by the end of September!

CYCLES OF CHANGE 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY - 25ER's STORIES

When Carolina first stepped into her internship at the Bikery, she didn’t have any mechanic experience. As a young person and as a woman, it would be reasonable to feel intimidated and excluded in that kind of situation, but Carolina is grateful that she has never been denied any opportunities to grow throughout her time with Cycles.

Taj grew up across the street from Roosevelt Middle School, where Cycles of Change got its start in 1998 as an afterschool bike club and earn-a-bike program. Even before Taj was old enough to be a student at Roosevelt, he remembers hanging around the bike club and getting bikes for free from the Cycles educators.

Cycles has run its Bike Club at Bret Harte since 2001, and although Natalie was not a part of the Bike Club as a student, it still feels like a full circle moment every time they return to work there as an educator. It speaks to how special of an organization Cycles is that we have been able to maintain these relationships with our community over years and even decades, especially given all of the extreme changes that Oakland has undergone recently, such as increased cost of living and widespread development projects that contribute to gentrification.

CYCLES OF CHANGE 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY - OUR COLLECTIVE LEGACY

Those of us who spend more time with Phoenix love to quote him talking about “the work”. It’s about the work, he says—that’s why we’re here. For Cycles of Change, “the work” is about instilling skills and confidence in the thousands of youth and adults that we’ve worked with over the years. Our work enables us to share knowledge with people aged 3-80 so that they can confidently navigate urban settings by bike.

Mario has been with Cycles for so long that he can’t remember exactly how long it’s been—maybe 20 years? He was one of the founding members of the Bikery in 2009, and remembers fondly when it was a small and simple cash-for-service model operating out of the Eastside Arts Alliance space on International Blvd. Since that time, Mario has seen Cycles’ reputation for bicycle education spread across the Bay Area; even though we are a relatively small organization, our impact over the years has been far-reaching.

CAMPAIGN STORY

🥳🎉🎊🪇🪩 CYCLES IS TURNING 25!!! 🥳🎉🎊🪇🪩

That’s really exciting. We’ve had a long journey and have gone through many phases as an organization to get to where we are today.

Throughout our 25 year history, we’ve worked with dozens of schools and thousands of community members, given thousands of dollars worth of discounts at the Bikery, and taught hundreds of people of all ages how to ride a bike and how to incorporate biking into their daily routines.

We are proud of our work and we recognize that it is a privilege to still be here, thriving. Given the vast and deep changes that Oakland and the Bay Area have undergone in our time as an organization, we know how powerful it is to be continuing our work in this tumultuous time. Many fellow organizations, tenants, and bike shops have not been able to survive the tides of gentrification, rising costs of living and rent, COVID, xenophobia and anti-Blackness, inflation, and the loss of important community pillars.

We are humbled to now feel like a community pillar ourselves. In celebration of our 25 years of life and in manifestation of another strong 25 years to come, we invite you to the party!

From now until the culmination of our 25th birthday fundraiser and fourth-annual Bike-a-Thon on August 25, we will be sharing stories, lessons, and dreams from our staff and community members, paying special attention to our staff that share 1998 as their year of birth.

WAYS TO SIGN-UP! 🚲💨

Sign up to ride for the Cycles of Change Bike-a-Thon! The Bike-a-Thon will be August 25th at Lake Merritt in Oakland from 1:00PM-2:00PM.

Riding in this event is a great way to build community, have fun, and make a difference! Support Cycles of Change as we work to grow transportation justice and bike access in East Oakland communities of color and have a blast while you're at it!

We ask that you commit to finding at least 10 donors to pledge a donation for every lap you complete in an hour OR a total of $500.

Once you've filled out this form, we will be in touch about getting you started with our campaign page and rider toolkit. We can't wait to roll with you!

🚲 Sign up to be a rider: whether you enjoy a leisurely ride along the water or are a full-speed ahead racer, there is a place for you as a Bike-a-Thon rider! As a rider, you will reach out to your networks to secure pledges on a per-lap or one-time basis. Then, on August 25 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm, you will have one hour to ride around the lake as many times as possible, and collect pledges accordingly. All pledges will support Cycles of Change’s mission of making cycling more accessible and equitable in our home communities. If you’re down to ride for this year’s event, please fill out our Sign-Up Form and we’ll be in touch with more details. We'll also supply you with our Fundraising Digital Tool Kit for your outreaching needs!

🚲Make a pledge: want to support but can’t commit to riding? Check out our campaign page to make a contribution.

🚲Volunteer on event day: still want to be part of the action, but without wheels? We could use your help on the day of the event. Reach out to us @ fundraising@cyclesofchange.org to see how you can support us on August 25.!

YOUR CONTRIBUTION MAKES A BIG IMPACT!

To date, Cycles of Change has taught more than 50,000 of Alameda County’s youth our bike safety classes! Cycles continues to pedal forward with our middle and high school Bike Clubs and connect over 200 low-income East Bay residents with free bicycles, helmets, lights and u-locks each year through our Upcycle program. Our community bike shop and collectively-run by East Oakland-based educators of color, The Bikery, continues to provide our community with an average of 500 bikes per year! Power to the pedal.

YOUR IMPACT (2021/2022)

Thanks to our community, we pedaled through another year of change with last summer’s Bike-a-thon success. Can you help us do it again! Your support means the world as we roll into next school year. Here’s what the funds raised will continue to help make possible:

Drive Your Bike: Our Drive-Your-Bike program delivers a comprehensive bike safety curriculum that includes skills drills, rules of the road, safety checks, and group rides to over 6,000 students per year, approximately 10% of whom are learn-to-ride students who are entirely new to cycling.

🚲 7,363 students in 21-22 school year

Bike Club: Our afterschool Bike Clubs introduce middle and high school students to bicycles as healthy, safe, affordable, and joyful means of mobility and recreation by taking students on weekly pedal-powered adventures through their communities.

🚲 1,900 hours ridden by students in our Bike Clubs

Bikery: The Bikery is Cycles of Change’s non-profit, community bike shop that offers used bikes and repair services at sliding scale prices to remove economic barriers to cycling.

🚲 478 bikes sold

🚲 1,098 bikes repaired

🚲 $18,397 discounts given

Mariposx: Our newest program, Mariposx, is a weekly bike mechanic workshop open exclusively for women, trans, and femme people, and aims to create an empowering space built by and for WTF individuals who are seeking connection and empowerment through bicycles.

🚲 70 new participants per year

UpCycle: Our Upcycle program partners with social service providers serving houseless, formerly incarcerated, and under-resourced communities to bring bikes and bike education to those who need it most.

🚲 Approximately 150 participants served per year

Check out our annual report: HERE

CORPORATE MATCHING

Many companies offer corporate matching for any contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations. Check your company intranet or benefits for details on the company matching process. Here is some information you may require for company matching:

Org: Cycles of Change

Cycles of Change EIN: 11-3821114

Address: 1246 23rd Street, Oakland CA 94606

We would appreciate taking the time to check as this is the single most effective way to double (or more) your impact.

THE CYCLES OF CHANGE SUSTAINER CIRCLE

Consistent and reliable monthly donations allow us to support ten thousand East Bay residents every year. Join the Cycles of Change Sustainers Circle and play a crucial role in expanding ridership in communities of color in East Oakland and beyond!

CYCLES STORY

Cycles of Change was founded in July 1998 as an after school bicycle education program aimed at reversing the root causes of youth violence. Since then, Cycles has become a well-known presence in East Oakland, with beginners’ ride training, advanced bicycle adventures, school-based bike safety education, and bicycle restoration workshops for hundreds of East Bay youth and community members.

In September of 2009, Cycles of Change started the Bikery, a community bike shop located less than half a mile from the East Oakland school where we started. The Bikery offers rebuilt bikes at sliding-scale rates, full service repairs, earn-a-bike programs and high school internships for youth.

In recent years, Cycles of Change’s work has been in high demand as more and more people seek to lessen their dependence on gas-powered vehicles. We continue to place the success and well-being of our home community first, while working to expand our programs across the East Bay and reach as many residents as possible.

You can continue to follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram

Cycles of Change is turning 25!

Help us pedal towards another 25 years of transportation justice!

Team Members