View WRENCH Annual Financial Statements HERE
Donate
>Click button to donate online at Canada Helps
Please make out donations by cheque to the WRENCH and mail here.
Donate Bikes or Parts
Your donations of used bikes and parts makes WRENCH programming possible! Through a partnership between the WRENCH and the City of Winnipeg it has never been easier for you to donate bikes 7 days a week at any of the City’s 4R Winnipeg Depots:
Brady 4R Winnipeg Depot 1777 Brady Road, south of the Perimeter Highway Weekdays 8am – 8pm. Weekends am – 5pm.
Pacific 4R Winnipeg Depot 1120 Pacific Avenue Weekdays (except Wednesday) 10 am – 6 pm. Weekends 9 am – 5 pm.
Panet 4R Winnipeg Depot 429 Panet Rd Weekdays (except Wednesday) 10 am – 6 pm. Weekends 9 am – 5 pm.
Tools, bike parts and other material donations can be dropped of at the WRENCH during public shop hours. WE ARE UNABLE TO PICK UP DONATIONS OF BICYCLE OR PARTS.
Become a Volunteer!
Interested in Volunteering at The WRENCH?
There are many different ways for people of all skill levels and backgrounds to volunteer at The WRENCH (The Winnipeg Repair Education N’ Cycling Hub). If you love bicycles (and there are about a million reasons to); The WRENCH is for you!
The Perks:
-Learn empowering and practical repair skills
-Access all the tools and parts you need to fix your bike
-Feel the satisfaction of genuinely helping those in need
-Become engaged in a diverse community
-Earn a bicycle and/or bike parts — for every hour of volunteering you earn $10 in “Bike Bucks”, which can be spent on used parts or un-repaired bicycles. (See “Suggested Donations” sheet for pricing of parts and “Bike Build Work Trade” sheet for details on how to trade volunteer hours for a bicycle).
How To Get Started:
1. Volunteer Orientations are (usually) on the first Saturday of each month from 1-2pm (check our website to confirm upcoming dates). Volunteer Orientations are a chance for anyone to come down and learn about The WRENCH organization, get a tour of our shop (at 1057 Logan) and learn about volunteer opportunities / perks.
You don’t need to come to a Volunteer Orientation before volunteering, but it is very helpful if you can!
2. Volunteer Shop is every Saturday from 2-4:30 pm (closed for holiday weekends, and other special events, check out our website calendar to confirm upcoming dates). Volunteers of any skill level are welcome to come and help out around the shop. Saturdays are a great day to learn a new skill and practice it (for example by taking one of our wheels and practicing straightening it on the truing stand, with guidance from other volunteers and/or staff.)
3. Other times that volunteers can come and help out at the shop:
Public Open Shop (Thursdays 12-5:30)
Mellow Vélo (two Sundays per month, from 2-5pm). Mellow Velo is Open Shop for women, trans, non-binary & femme-identifying people.
4. Come to one of our monthly Workshops!
One Saturday per month we get an expert to come in and lead a hands-on workshop. Subjects vary from art-making to touring to wheel building. Check out our website calendar for upcoming dates and topics and feel free to email volunteer@thewrench.ca if you have suggestions for upcoming workshops!
5. Offsite Volunteer Opportunities
We have many fun offsite events throughout the year that require many volunteers of all skill levels. These include but aren’t limited to:
-Brady Runs / Trips to 4R Depots – Once or twice a month we visit the Brady 4R Depot to collect and sort bicycle donations. Email our Resource Reclamation Coordinator at resource@thewrench.ca to get notified about upcoming trips!
–Bike Bazaars – Big block-party-style community events which include a kids’ bike swap, an adult bike sale, repair stands, live entertainment and a free BBQ.
-Cycle of Giving, a 24 hour kids bike building marathon! Our largest event of the year, takes place on the first weekend in December. Email thewrenchcycleofgiving@gmail.com to register / learn more.
-WRENCH @ The Forks – From June to September the WRENCH runs a satellite shop in the Box Cars @ the North-East corner of the Forks Market building. Open Saturdays and Sundays 12-6pm.
6. Have a Truck? Volunteers are regularly needed to help us bring our metal and rubber scrap to the scrap yard or take our dirty shop towels for a wash!
7. Speak multiple languages? We are always in the need for translators, both in the shop (during Open Shop), and during special events (Bike Bazaars, Sales, etc.)
Examples of Volunteer Tasks (which could be done during Volunteer Shop, Open Shop or Mellow Velo):
1st Tier: Entry-level (and ongoing) volunteer tasks include: patching tubes, stripping scrap bikes of their useable parts sorting parts, receiving and evaluating donations, tidying shop, washing dishes, vacuuming, emptying garbage/recycling, etc.
2nd Tier: More mechanical tasks (for folks with some mechanical skills and/or a keen desire to learn): Repairing bicycles (either helping work a repair stand during Open Shop, or repairing a bicycle during Volunteer Shop for us to sell), repairing wheels, assessing and sorting more complex parts.
3nd Tier: Volunteers can also work towards becoming a:
Salesperson (Helping fit people to bicycles and processing payments)
Greeter (Welcoming people to the shop, assessing their needs and signing them in).
4th Tier: Once you are a regular, active volunteer who has displayed adequate mechanical skills, you have the opportunity to build bikes for cash honorariums.
5th Tier: We also do a wide variety of youth programming, both on and off site, where qualified volunteers are invited to help out (Vulnerable sectors check required). If you are passionate about bicycles and working with youth, this could be a great fit!
Do you want to be a bike mechanic but don’t know where to start? The best way to learn is by doing! Come down on a Saturday and ask to strip a bike from the scrap pile of all it’s useful parts; it’s far easier to take things apart than put them together, and there will be plenty of people to help if you get stuck. Another great way is to come during Open Shop and shadow one of our many highly skilled mechanics. Ask questions – so many questions! Skills are learned a little bit at a time, so be patient with yourself and enjoy the small victories.
Questions about volunteering?
Email our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@thewrench.ca
Want to Know About Upcoming WRENCH Events / volunteer opportunities?
Join the Volunteer Mailing List! Be kept up-to-date with upcoming volunteer opportunities, by emailing volunteer@thewrench.ca and asking to be put on our volunteer mailing list!
Donate-a-Car
By Donating an old Vehicle that you were going to send to the scrapyard anyways, The WRENCH will receive a good portion of the proceeds.
Donating your old car is a poetic and a literal way of contributing towards free bicycle education in Winnipeg.
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