My name is Jem Stein and I am the founder and Director of The Bike Project.

My story
My inspiration was sparked by Assaf. He was one of the Darfuri boys whom I mentored after he escaped from the Darfur genocide aged just 17. He came to London alone and with nothing. Physically, he was now safe but he faced immense obstacles to create a normal life for himself here. Moreover, he was stuck on the outskirts of London and unable to access vital resources. One day, I found Assaf ashen-faced. He had terrible news: his parents and sister had been murdered in Darfur. Assaf was broken, paralyzed and isolated.

But a bike changed that.

How does a bike help?
Living in London, Assaf needed to be able to access the following resources in order to create a life: Lawyers and home office appointments (missing these could cause his claim to fail); jobs; education; psychological help – many suffer from trauma caused by their past experiences.

A bike allowed him to access these services as it was free, healthy, and sustainable.

What do we do?
According to TFL, 27,500 bikes are abandoned in London every year. At the same time, 20,000 new asylum seekers arrive in the UK every year to add to the hundreds of thousands already here. We match the bikes to people who need them by:
1. Collecting second hand bikes.
2. Refurbishing them.
3. Donating them to destitute refugees and asylum seekers.

Role description
You will have two distinct roles:
1. Communications: we rely on a huge network of volunteers and supporters to sustain us. You will be in charge of
a. Liaising with volunteers
b. Recruiting new volunteers and partners
c. Updating the website, Facebook, Twitter, and the newsletter
2. Evaluation: we are currently evaluating the effect of the project. You will be responsible for
a. Interviewing beneficiaries
b. Compiling data from the interviews
c. Reporting your findings to the Director and trustees.
You may also perform miscellaneous tasks at the Director’s discretion.

Other details
We would love to discuss with you how many days per week you can commit to. Ideally, we would love you to be able to volunteer for three days to five days per week for the next three months.
Location: our office is in West Hampstead.