The earn-a-bike program began in April of 2008 and continues to expand. Through hands-on tutorials, youth and adults learn basic bicycle maintenance and repair skills,and earn their own bike. We also host group rides to cool places in the community. Inspired by other successful bike programs across the country, the North Side Neighborhood Assembly created the Fresh Cycles Youth Program in order to
provide a place for community members to come together to create a positive space where volunteers, neighbors, and youth can come together to refurbish bicycles. The initial program allowed neighborhood kids to earn a bike and "graduate" after ten once-a-week sessions, but following the first graduation in the fall of 2008, the kids kept coming back to Fresh Cycles. Responding to this need, the program quickly expanded to include an after-school program for youth three days a week, where youth were able to receive homework help, eat a healthy snack, and participate in fun and educational activities with volunteers. Supported by AmeriCorps members for its first two years, Fresh Cycles closed its doors in 2010 when the significant time commitment needed to keep the program open fell to a few volunteers. Through the support of "Live Well. Play Well. Binghamton!", Fresh Cycles reopened its doors in November 2013, after a six-month planning effort to restructure the program in way that would allow Fresh Cycles to stay open for the years to come. Fresh Cycles is housed in the Lee Barta Community Center, a former police substation which was rededicated in honor of fallen Binghamton Police Officer Lee Barta in order to provide a space for positive community programs.
