Where our wheels go

Refurbished bikes are distributed to asylum seekers in Bradford via referrals from BIASAN – Bradford Immigration and Asylum Seekers Support and Advice Network. We hold regular sessions where we donate approximately 15 bikes at a time. When we donate bikes we also include a helmets, set of lights, a pump, a bell, a high- viz jacket and a lock so that the new cyclists and their bikes can stay safe whilst cycling around the city.

The bikes reach asylum seekers for whom transport is a major problem so giving a bike to a person in real need is a life-changing event. Many of them are housed in outlying areas of Bradford, where they have to walk for an hour to get into the city centre, where most activities and appointments take place.  Not being allowed to work they have time on their hands, and being able to get around on a bike gives them opportunities they do not have when on foot. Having a bicycle makes a huge difference, it encourages exercise, is great for a person’s mental health and widens the world available to them. When you have very little, a bike is freedom

BIASAN is a volunteer-run organisation in Bradford that aims to support Refugees and Asylum seekers in their efforts to start a new life in this country. Find out more about BIASAN here.

Wheelchairs are collected by both PhysioNet and UpCycle and are refurbished in the workshop at HMP Garth. The refurbished wheelchairs are then distributed by PhysioNet who send shipments of mobility equipment in 40ft containers to destinations around the world, including Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

PhysioNet was established in 2005 with the aim of providing physiotherapy and mobility equipment for the disabled in developing countries. Bulk collections of equipment are made from the NHS, Social Service Departments, Local Education Authorities and the private sector throughout the UK. PhysioNet is based in North Yorkshire with support centres in East Anglia, Lancashire, South East and the West Country. Equipment is checked and listed at the PhysioNet depot in North Yorkshire. Find out more about PhysioNet here.

Bikes that are repaired at our workshop at HMP Nottingham are distributed by Pioneer People Wirral. Refurbished bikes have been sent to Kenya and The Gambia where they have helped some of the poorest people in the world. Find out more about Pioneer People here.

Jubilee Outreach Yorkshire is a small registered charity, based in West Yorkshire, that primarily support people in Eastern Europe by providing aid and funds. We have donated refurbished childrens bikes to the charity to be distributed directly to orphanages. We also supply a number of bikes throughout the year that they sell via their charity shops in Shipley and Bingley to raise funds to support the work of JOY. Find out more about Jubilee Outreach Yorkshire here.

Christian African Relief Trust (CART) Huddersfield is a registered charity run entirely by volunteers. They recycle personal, educational, vocational and first aid items, some of which they sell to raise funds for their overseas shipments. Items, including refurbished bicycles, requested directly by their partners in Africa are sent in 40ft containers including other aid items. Read more about CART here.

In October 2019 we delivered our first van load of bikes, refurbished in the CHAINS workshop at HMP Risley to The Destitution Project in Bolton. The Destitution Project works with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Bolton.

Working with other voluntary organisations that support refugees and asylum seekers we know how much of a difference access to a bike will make to the individuals that receive them and hope to be able to donate bikes to them again in the future when they have allocated the current supply. Read more about the Destitution Project here.

In October 2019 we delivered our first van load of bikes, refurbished in the CHAINS workshop at HMP Risley to The Destitution Project in Bolton. The Destitution Project works with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Bolton.  

We provide bikes to the Bike Hive, The Bike Hive is a community bike project run by volunteers, based in Alexandra Park, Whalley Range, South Manchester, M16. The project supports a growing number of people from across the local area to ride, recycle, build, repair and have fun with bikes. We provide the equipment, resources and qualified cycle instructors and mechanics. We have a voluntary committee of dedicated local people who oversee the project and act as guardians of the group’s mission and finances. Anyone can become a member of the group and there is no cost.

Read more about the Bike Hive here.

We provide bikes to Abbeywood School, an independent specialist day school providing high quality education for boys and girls. Based in Rotherham, the school meets the needs of a diverse group of pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, alongside a range of other associated conditions. The school was keen to work with UpCycle to provide refurbished bikes that we can donate to individuals in need. So far the children have enjoyed working on a range of mountain bikes and BMXs. The younger children have spent time learning to use tools, taking bikes apart so that the spares can be used to refurbish other bikes. Read more about Abbeywood School here.

We provide bikes to Fair Futures, a Community Interest Company working with children, young people and families to promote successful learning and reduce barriers to education. Read more about the Fair Futures here.

We send all our trikes and bikes for preschoolers to Sunbeams Nursery, a contemporary early years education and care provider located in the heart of Shipley town centre.

Mpika Village of Hope (formerly Mpika Relief Fund) is a registered charity that supports orphans and other vulnerable children in the small town of Mpika, northern Zambia. Mpika sends containers full of essential supplies and refurbished bikes to its site in northern Zambia. The aim of the charity is to relieve suffering. To this end, they provide children with a safe, inclusive and caring home environment, an education, and hope for the future. The charity is run and administered entirely by volunteers. Find out more about Mpika Village of Hope here.

Hamilton Davies Trust is a charity founded in 2004. They provide charitable support to the local communities of Irlam and Cadishead, with some additional support given to Rixton-with-Glazebrook. Unwanted bikes are collected locally, refurbished in the CHAINS workshop at HMP Risley and then distributed by the Hamilton Davies Trust to school children and cycling groups in the local area.

“Thank you for the bike that you kindly let me have. I really wanted a bike as mine broke. I went on a ride with it and had so much fun. I really appreciate it. THANK YOU!” –  letter from a local 9 year old recipient of a refurbished bike. Find out more about Hamilton Davies Trust here.

UpCycle provided Community Project Zimbabwe with approximately 300 refurbished bikes to fill a container that was shipped to Zimbabwe and distributed to people in rural areas. Living in a rural area of Zimbabwe means that people can be faced with a walk of several hours to reach many of the services and amenities we take for granted in the UK like schools, medical clinics, work and markets to buy and sell their crops.

Open Doors is a voluntary organisation based in Hull that supports asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers. We first heard about them through our contact with The Avenues Bike Project who had been donating a small number of bikes to them. The Avenues Bike Project were unable to meet the level of need for refurbished bikes and so MCF donated two van loads of refurbished adult bikes directly to Open Doors in 2018, followed by another donation of 30 bikes in 2019. Find out more about Open Doors here.The Avenues Bike Project

The Avenues Bike Project, based in Hull worked closely with UpCycle until they closed in March 2019. They were a small registered charity run entirely by a team of approximately 20 volunteers. The Avenues collected unwanted bikes in Hull, which were refurbished in our prison workshops. Refurbished bikes were returned to The Avenues who sent one container load of bikes (approximately 450 bikes) to the Village Bike Project in Sierra Leone or Ghana each year. The Village bike project then distributed the bikes locally, specifically supporting girls and young women into bike ownership in order to redress the gender inequality in education and employment. Bikes were distributed to children, young people and adults in rural areas to help them get to work, college or school, distances that would have taken up to 4 hours to walk.

We are sad to say goodbye to The Avenues Bike Project and wish them all well in their future endeavours.

Margaret Carey Foundation started working with Bikes in Need in 2018. Bikes were collected locally in York, refurbished in MCF prison workshops and then distributed to people in need in York.

Bikes in Need donated their first bike to a refugee from Syria in 2016 and have been gifting bikes ever since. Bikes in Need has been gifting bikes to refugees, homeless people living in hostels and anyone who has a genuine need in the city of York.