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the recyclery
the recyclery

Tailwind for Tools 2024

The Recyclery Collective is proud to announce our 8th annual fundraiser! To celebrate our 10,000th refurbished bicycle, we have set a goal to raise $10,000 by December 31st, 2024. We depend on donations from our community to encourage the success of our beloved educational programs. While sales of refurbished bikes cover a portion of our operating expenses, your financial support can help us improve operations and empower more people to ride bikes!

If you would like to Donate and attend our Fundraiser Event, please click Donate below or visit our Givebutter! 

Community,

Welcome to The Recyclery Open House: Programming Schedule Release!

The Recyclery Collective Open House

A celebration of our Tailwind for Tools fundraising campaign finale

Join us at the shop on Sunday, February 11, 2018, 2:00 PM – 8:30 PM, for a full day of fun for all ages.

All Day Activities:

♦ Raffle, Silent Auction, and Prize Wheel! – Win something great, big or small!

♦ Photobooth – self explanatory silliness

♦ Upcycled Jewelry Making – use bike parts to make earrings and more!

♦ Screen Printing – bring your own garments, or purchase a blank shirt here. We’ve got Recyclery screens and ink

♦ Snacks – for snacking

Special Event Schedule:

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM – Kids Bike Repair
No prior experience necessary. Experienced volunteers will provide guidance. All completed bikes will be donated locally. But first…

3:30 – 4 PM – Alley Kitten Race!
We fixed em, now we ride em!

4:00 – 4:30 PM – Schmooze and Share
Stories and highlights from The Recyclery since our last Open House

4:30 – 5:30 PM – Bike Infrastructure Advocacy Workshop
With Active Transportation Alliance, Go Evanston, and The Recyclery

5:30 – 5:40 PM – AcroYoga by Loren Phillips & Sarah Sutherland

6:00 – 6:30 PM – Hot Drinks and Mingling. Raffle drawings begin!

6:30 – 7:15 PM – Live Music by Urban Rythm Band

7:30 – 8:30 PM – Live Music by Adam Gottlieb & OneLove

Thank you and See You Soon!

Can’t make it? Make a virtual contribution! We’re so close to reaching our goal!

Community, Events,

Open House February 12th – Tailwind for Tools Finale

On Sunday, February 12th, we are opening the shop doors to our volunteers, partner organizations, friends, and neighbors for a time of fun and celebration. Great activities will be going all day long from 2 pm! We will request a $10 optional donation at the door but no one will be turned away.

This event marks the conclusion of our Tailwind for Tools Campaign. Come enjoy food, live music, screen printing, jewelry making, a raffle, a photo booth, and featured speaker John Greenfield from The Chicago Reader.

Event program

Afternoon Session 2:00pm to 4:30pm:

Partake in Raffle, Prize Wheel, Photo booth, Snacks

2:00pm – 3:00pm: Kids Bike Repair

No prior experience necessary, experienced volunteers will provide guidance.

3:15pm – 4:30pm: Screenprinting!

Bring your own t-shirt or purchase one from The Recyclery. We provide screens and paint.

2:00pm – 4:30pm: Upcycled Bicycle Jewelry

We will enjoy reusing bicycle parts to make jewelry.

Evening Session 5:00pm to 8:30pm:

Partake in Raffle, Prize Wheel, Photo booth, Snacks, Upcycled Bicycle Jewelry Making

5pm – 5:45 pm: “An Update on Chicago’s Sustainable Transportation Scene” by Streetsblog Chicago’s John Greenfield

5:45pm to 6:45pm: Hot Drinks and Mingle

6:45pm – 7:30pm: Live Music by Herbal Remedies

7:30 – 7:45 Raffle prize drawing

7:45 pm – 8:30 pm: Live Music by The People Feel Good Band

Can’t make it?

Consider making an online contribution! We are relying on generous people like you to keep our programs running. We’ve done so much in 2016 and none of that would have been possible without YOU.

Make a contirbution

So much gratitude to all of our sponsors!

Food and Drinks:

The Amazing Kale Burger – a local vegan burger joint!

Sol Café – our neighborhood coffee shop!

Raffle Items:

Few Spirits – distillery in Evanston.

Centered Studios – a holistic medicine provider in Rogers Park.

Collective Resource – composting service provider based out of Evanston.

Tirabassi Gallery – a local Chicago artist!

Thai Blossom – a traditional Thai massage and Clinical Shiatsu studio.

Finally Here Salon – hair and beauty studio in Rogers Park.

Musics!

The Herbal Remedies – representing a hippie reawakening movement in which respect for fellow human beings and care for Mother Earth are the keys to living harmoniously and happily. Check out their future shows!

The People Feel Good Band serving up some good time Soul and Jazz.

Events, ,

Winter fundraiser: Give a Tailwind for Tools!

Everyone knows what a difference does it make to ride with a tailwind. We are looking for one too! Starting today, we are launching an online fundraiser “Tailwind for Tools”. We’ve set a high goal – $10,000! But our dreams are big too.

Here is what we will do with that amount:

  1. SprocketsUpdate our space by installing two new repair stands in what is now only a storage area.
  2. Replace our most heavily used and worn tools.
  3. Upgrade our light fixtures and bulbs to more sustainable standards.
  4. Remodel our front desk, add a theft-protected display area for bicycle parts, and create a small lounge area for our patrons and volunteers.
  5. Update our computers to increase productivity.

Give us a tailwind!

With new bike stands, we can run full-time programs at the shop without interrupting our staff mechanics’ work schedules, and we can ensure that our more specialized tools are protected from theft.

We purchased many of our tools when we started ten years ago. With over 1,500 annual users coming to our Open Shop, they have seen a lot of use and many of them need to be replaced.

Our current light fixtures are for old fluorescent bulbs which are no longer manufactured in the U.S. New lighting will help everyone who uses the shop to see what they’re working on. It will also be more energy efficient and sustainable.

A smaller and more efficient front desk will protect our higher-value items from theft and will optimize the check-in/check-out system.

A lounge area will let our volunteers rest during their shifts and give our patrons a place to wait comfortably without crowding the busy routes through the shop. It will also add life to our community gatherings and events.

Newer computers will help our staff productivity. We’re not looking for cutting edge here, but our current machines practically lock up when attempting to multitask.

We know this goal is high, but $10,000 will let us make all four dreams come true.

We appreciate every donation big and small. Every dollar counts!

If we reach our $10,000 goal by January 31st, all our donors will be invited to a celebration and a Goodbye-to-the-Old-Space party. On Sunday, January 31, we will be open all day, sharing stories, starting new friendships and maintaining old ones, and working on kids’ bikes that will be given away to newly arrived refugee children. Light snacks and refreshments on us! You know, we’ll make a party even if don’t reach that goal 😉

Thank you from all our pink sprocket hearts!

Donate here

Events, Recyclery Collective, , ,