The Lawrey Story

For just over a year the charity Bike Hub Nelson has been making a difference in people’s lives in more ways than one. Matt Lawrey shares an insider’s view of the not-for-profit organisation that’s exceeding even its own founders’ expectations.

Every now and then an idea comes along that just works.

A recent example in our neck of the woods is the bicycle re-homing scheme, Bike Hub Nelson.

Based in a concrete bunker of a building at Saxton Field, Bike Hub Nelson is a volunteer-powered scheme that fixes up second-hand bikes donated by the public and the Police, and makes them available to the community on a koha-basis.

I was lucky enough to be appointed its co-ordinator in November last year. Lucky because not only do I love helping to get more people on bikes but because it’s given me a front row seat to what is one of the most inspiring community projects I’ve ever seen.

The Hub was launched on a cold night in May last year. A small but enthusiastic crowd of supporters gathered at the workshop to hear a speech by the project’s founder, Bevan Woodward, and enjoy a drink and some nibbles.

There was a good vibe. There’s was definitely optimism but no one really knew if it would work. No one knew if anyone would donate bikes and no one knew if anyone would turn up when the workshop opened its doors to the public. In fact, on that first night, one of The Hub’s founding volunteers, Emily Osborne, took along a deck of cards just in case no one came through the door. As it turned out, the cards weren’t needed. Thanks to some great local media coverage, the word was out and The Hub was off to a successful start.

Since then we’ve re-homed around 800 bikes. Recipients include everyone from toddlers to a retired farmer in his mid-seventies. They come from across the region and many of them are former refugees. On multiple occasions, we’ve provided entire families with bikes, helmets and lights.

We have around 35 active volunteers who repair, clean and service bikes as well as match them with members of the public. We’ve also attracted greatly-appreciated funding support from Nelson City Council, NBS and a benefactor who would like to remain anonymous, along with brilliant product and logistical support from a wide range of businesses.

It's not an exaggeration to say that over the last year Bike Hub Nelson has made a lot of people very, very happy. In fact, it’s not uncommon to get hugged by the people who get our bikes.

Bike Hub’s benefits to the community are both obvious and not-so-obvious. The obvious pluses include: removing the financial obstacles to bike ownership, keeping bikes out of landfill, helping people save money, giving people more opportunities to participate in society, fighting obesity, growing the cycling market, giving people and often whole families something fun to do, and freeing up room in the region’s garages, basements and lock-ups.

Over time we also like to think it will help to mitigate emissions and reduce congestion, and potentially crime; why steal a bike when you can get one from The Hub?

The not-so-obvious benefits include: people learning new skills from our top mechanics, the way The Hub brings young and old together (we regularly have three generations working on bikes together), the camaraderie that comes with working with others to help others, and the look on a cash-strapped parent’s face when you tell them the koha is optional.

People don’t just go away from The Hub’s public sessions with bikes, helmets and lights, they also leave feeling good about the whole community.

So, if you know someone who would benefit from one of our bikes, send them our way, and if you’ve got a bike to donate, drop me a line ([email protected]). We’ll make sure it goes to someone who will love it and use it heaps. For good stories about Bike Hub Nelson, visit our Facebook page or our website (bikehubnelson.org).