Volunteer At The International Bicycle Film Fest

Thats right the film fest is coming to Bean town this year. Get your act together and come help out!

Got this in the mail today from Seth who is not only awesome, but organizing the show here in town this year.

Greetings from the Bicycle Film Festival in Boston!

The Festival is coming up fast and its time to start getting organized. The key to the success of the BFF has always been the strength of its volunteers and this will be especially important in Boston as we get the Film Festival on its feet.

Please join me Monday the 21st, 7pm at The Other Side cafe. We will go over the schedule and events for the BFF and start to assign tasks for volunteers.

Please feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone interested.

This is going to be awesome and I hope you all will be involved!

Seth Davis, Boston Producer
8th Annual Bicycle Film Festival
617 281 3067
[email protected]

So get your ass over to the Otherside on the 21st and be ready to help out!

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Volunteers Needed! Help MassBike Make Next Week The Best Bike Week Ever!

Volunteers Needed!

Contact Membership Coordinator Dorothy Fennell to sign up for any of these volunteer opportunities, or call MassBike at 617-542-BIKE.

MassBike Volunteer Night: Tuesday, May 13
Come to our office in Boston for beer, pizza and fun during our monthly volunteer night!

Bay State Bike Week Water Bottle Stuffing: Wednesday, May 14
Get set for “round two” of stuffing water bottles with schwag for Bay State Bike Week. Join us between 5:30pm-9pm on the 9th floor of Boston City Hall in room 937. Enter through the rear entrance on Congress Street. Food provided!

Ski Market Bike Swap: Saturday, May 17
The Ski Market on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston is hosting a bike swap to benefit MassBike. We need help managing a table at the event between the hours of 10am-6pm.

Redbones Bike Party & Benefit: Monday, May 19
From 4-10pm we will be at the Redbones Party in Somerville, and we are still looking for a few more hands to help out with bike parking and managing the booth.

Bike Bash: Wednesday, May 21
We are looking for some folks to help out with the Commuter Challenge closing party in Cambridge where we award those folks who were commuting all week. MassBike needs assistance with managing the bike parking.

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Lots of MassBike Volunteer Goodness

Below are a list of some great Volunteer opportunities that you can jump on. I have it on good account that there is always free pizza AND BEER at these things (at least the ones put on by MassBike I am pretty sure that the other ones don’t BUMMER!). The below text was send to me in an Email. Get back to Dorothy at MassBike if you are interested in any of these ([email protected])

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1) BayState Bike Week- we need your extra hands for all sorts of jobs

Bay State Bike Week is just a few weeks away and at the MassBike office we are entering the home stretch. We have the following task to take care of, when you respond please let me know which one you are available for.

1. Stuffing the Bay State Bike Week “Goody” Water Bottles

On Tuesday, May 6th (the regular MassBike Volunteer time 5pm-8pm) we will be assembling the Bay State Bike Week “Goody” Water Bottles. The Water Bottles will include bike related schwag that will be distributed to Bike Week participants; make sure you register: you, your friends, your neighbor’s cat, etc….

You can register for Bay State Bike Week HERE

2. Assembling the Bay State Bike Week Spoke Cards

Also on Tuesday, May 6th at the MassBike office we aim to be assembling the Spoke Cards for Bay State Bike Week. In the
event that you are not familiar with Spoke Cards, think of when you were a kid and use to stick baseball cards in your spokes.

3. Leading/ assisting with the Bicycle Convoys that begin at points outside of Boston and end at Government Center

On the morning of Friday, May 16th, there will be a number of Bicycle Convoys that will be making their way from points outside of Boston in to government center. Think of this as a “bicycle train”; the ride makes pre-determined stops along a mapped out route where cyclists can either join or break away from the group.

We need assistance with the routes: handing out waivers, keeping riders together, etc.. And the routes are as follows:

Dorchester, Allston, JP, West Roxbury/ Roslindale. We are also specifically looking for two-three volunteers to lead the Cambridge convoy. The route will begin on the Min. Man path right beyond Alewife and depart around 7:15/ 7:30am.

All other departure times will be around the same time. Please note that the convoys will be traveling at a easy pace so as to accommodate all levels of cyclists.

4. Signing up to be a “Bike Buddy”

We are looking for experienced cyclists (read: you are comfortable leading another person on bike) to be “Bike Buddies”. Veterans like yourself are encouraged to take the lead by finding a non-cyclists friend and volunteer to be his/her personal cycling guide and mentor for one day, or if you are both up for it, the entire Bay State Bike Week. All that is required is door-to-door service and lots of encouragement!

Flexibility is key with this job. It might mean you go 20 mins out of your way to accommodate your “buddy’s” schedule. But, keep in mind, that extra attention might be just the thing that gets your buddy from thinking about bicycle commuting to actually bicycle commuting. So, please budget the extra time needed to help your “buddies” feel comfortable.

5. Government Center, MassBike Tent, Friday May 16th

MassBike will be managing the final destination point –Government Center– for all the bicycle convoys. We will need assistance from 7am-10am on handing out “goody bottles”, food, etc….

2) Counting Bicyclists with the Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS)

On Saturday May 3rd & Tuesday May 6th, The CTPS will be conducting users (cyclists, walkers, skaters, etc..) counts on the the below listed trails and MassBike is lending a hand to find volunteers. We need your help! These counts will not only indicate existing usage but also help to predict volumes on future facilities. The CTPS will provide all of the necessary equipment; if it rains, no worries, there will be a rain date!

Please be in touch as to what date you are available and which path (if any works best for you)

1. Dr. Paul Dudley White Path (Charles River)
2. Minuteman Bikeway
3. Cape Cod Rail Trail
4. Norwottuck
5. Upper Charles Trail
6. Nashua River Rail Trail
7. Assabet River Rail Trail
8. Shining Sea Trail
9. Cape Cod Canal
10. Mass Central
11. Ashuwillticook River Trail

3) Counting Bicyclists on the Somerville Community Path

Steve Winslow with the City of Somerville is looking for volunteers to do bike counts on Saturday, May 3rd. The counts will focus on the Community Path but also on other streets around the city. If you’re interested in helping, please contact Steve directly. His e-mail address is [email protected].

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Repair Bicycles In Nepal!

Wrench Nepal runs a small bike shop in Kathmandu, Nepal, that is operated by bike mechanic ‘interns’ — Nepali teenagers who, for any reason, are in danger of entering adulthood without marketable job skills, or are otherwise at a disadvantage.

There are over 400 homes in Kathmandu alone for children who have been orphaned or abandoned by their families. At the moment, Wrench Nepal works with kids from a drop-in shelter and a group that supports the families of those in prison, with a seemingly endless supply of possible new interns: teenagers eager to learn a useful skill, to practice their English, and to become self-sufficient. With only one person training them, however, the shop cannot work with more than 2-3 people at a time. That’s where you come in.

They’re looking for two people at a time to act as bike mechanic instructors and program organizers. Two positions are available to be filled immediately; the second shift will be open in May, when the current instructor’s visa expires.

The requirements are:
– Working knowledge of basic bike mechanics
– Good communication and organizing skills
– Willingness to live in a foreign environment and work with people from a very different culture

Bike shop or co-op experience is a major advantage, as is experience in business administration or community activism. Grant writing skills will be helpful. Each position is for approximately 4 months and requires that you live in Kathmandu. As this is an all-volunteer program, there will be no pay, and any profit that the shop raises will be distributed among the Nepali interns for things that they need as future bike mechanics. Cost of living is very low, rent in a comfortable place can be as little as $50 per month. Volunteers can also pursue part-time paid work to support themselves while in Nepal. Wrench Nepal encourages those of you who are presently enrolled in universities to consider this as a possible independent study abroad opportunity.

Wrench Nepal will work with the administration at your school to determine if this can be a for-credit internship for you. If you do not have mechanic skills, they may still be interested in your participation as an organizer.

If interested, please send a brief resume of your relevant experience and a short cover letter to [email protected]. Make sure to highlight your experience working with bicycles and working in community organizing positions.

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MassBike Volunteer Opportunities

I have posted a bunch of MassBike volunteer opportunities to the calendar (over on the right), if you want some super sweet events to help out at, be sure to check them out!

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