Our Literacy*AmeriCorps group helped out at RUBARB (Rusted up Bikes..) in the 9th Ward on Saturday, yesterday. Several of our members toured the bike "shop," participated at a neighborhood farmers' market in the Lower 9th Ward where RUBARB had a display, and then returned to the RUBARB shop to help repair some children's bikes.
RUBARB was created after Hurricane Katrina to help fix up bikes for adults and children that were ruined in the flood. It is not a "business" per se but a volunteer group that exists on donations and new volunteer work. The "shop" is in a tin shed located on the parking lot for St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church in the 9th Ward. The convent and the school for St. Mary's were ruined in the flood, but the church is still operational. RUBARB provides a very needed service for the 9th Ward community that is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. People donate spare parts or used or even partly ruined bikes, and RUBARB repairs them. Children can get a free bike by participating in "earn-a-bike", a program wherein they volunteer some time at the shop where they can also learn basic bike safety and bike repair skills. Bikes, repairs, and bike parts are also "for sale" for a small donation to the shop.
(The photos above include a "Christmas tree" made from used bike parts, some hand-painted signs, the outside of the shop, and some of our AmeriCorps members -- Lauren, Miriam, and Laura. For more information, visit http://www.rubarbike.org/
--Adrian
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