Recycle a Bicycle teaches young people that bikes are awesome and shows them how to fix them when they break. One way the program raises money is via sales of jewelry made of old bike chains. Funy enough, these tough chick accessories grew from girly origins.
According to today’s Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
Several years ago, Recycle-A-Bicycle received a small grant for science and technology. [Former bike mechanic and founder Karen] Overton used the grant to start an after-school program for middle school-aged girls to come into the shop and build bikes. “But the girls came in and rebelled,” she said. “They didn’t want to get greasy.”
Around the same time, a man, whom Overton nicknamed “John the jewelry man,” used to come into Recycle-A-Bicycle and ask to look through the small parts bin, taking various pieces that he used to make jewelry. Seeing a way to get the girls learning (and not greasy), Overton asked him to teach her how to make jewelry out of bicycle parts.
Who are these prissy girls? I’m kind of disappointed to read that they don’t like to get dirty.