Bike recycling program not shuttering despite rumours: Venture Training

Cycle program staying open

Photo: Darren Handschuh file photo

The Cycle Cycle Venture Training program has employees with special needs fixing up donated bikes that are then sold with the money going back in to the program.

Venture Training says its bike recycling program is not shutting down despite persistent rumours suggesting otherwise.

Ryan Cucheron, CEO of Venture Training (Vernon and District Association Community Living), says there’s no real plans to shut the Cycle Cycle program down, though it could be changing in the future.

“We have talked about it as a possibility, and maybe it becomes for different times of the year when we're busy,” said Cucheron, noting November through January are particularly slow months where the program could see a temporary closure.

“But we haven't made any decisions about that yet, of any kind.”

Cycle Cycle is a skill-building program where Venture Training employs people with special needs to clean up, repair or strip bicycles for parts which are then sold back to the community.

The goal is for participants to use their learned skills to find employment.

Cucheron said any partial closures during slower months would just be for the public, and people could still work on bikes and build up inventory.

He said Cycle Cycle also still needs to pay staff to be on site even when sales are slow in colder months, which could be mitigated by temporarily closing down.

Confusion about a closure seems to come from an internal decision to redirect funding from some Venture Training programs to other programming. All programs are continuing to operate, but Community Living BC funding is going to different initiatives to give people with disabilities new opportunities.

“For example, people from the wood shop — because we don't need as many people there now — are going and just doing some day programming,” Cucheron said.

When asked how people could help keep the program running as it is, Cucheron said the group is always looking for more volunteers to help out. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Venture Training for information.