Bobby Taylor is helping to keep high school students out of trouble by providing them the opportunity to learn a trade.
Taylor is a youth service coordinator at the Lorain County Community Action Agency’s Bike Shop program.
- Bike Shop program part of Lorain County Community Action Agency
- Provides students with work experience and skills
- Bikes repaired are sold to support the program
The LCCAA Bike Shop, inside the Ronald Nabakowski Youth Center on West 10th Street, will be open three days a week in fall 2019. The building was dedicated to Nabakowski, a former member of LCCAA's board at a June 22, 2019 event.
The Bike Shop will provide work experience opportunities for participants in the Youth Services Program. The shop will repair and resell used bicycles. The youth will also maintain bicycles for the Go Lorain bike share program launched by the Lorain Public Library.
“So they learn a lot of valuable skills, from customer service to inventory control, but they are also learning how to work with their hands... it’s a great trade to have and it's transferable, so they are working on bikes today, but they could be working on airplanes tomorrow,” said Taylor.
The bike program started last month with 10 high school students, and the teens appreciate the guidance they're getting.
These students are not only learning how to fix bikes, but they’re also getting paid for their work at $10 per hour, and they're working 25 hours a week.
Many of the bikes for the program were donated by the Lorain Police Department, and once the bikes are repaired they will be sold at discount prices, with the proceeds going back towards supporting the program.
The Bike Shop is just a part of the work experience program at LCCAA, but the cornerstone is community service. So, when these motivated teens aren't working the Bike Shop, they're out in the community at food pantries and festivals, supporting their neighbors.