Community Cycles of California To Celebrate Volunteers; Eight Years of Making a Difference
- New Retail Location Opens at Bellarimo Place -

San Jose, California. – Community Cycles of California is marking its eighth anniversary of providing opportunity and economic independence this week with the opening of its long-awaited retail location and a special celebration to honor its volunteers. 

“Community Cycles of California is such a vital force in San Jose. The top-notch volunteers provide transportation, create workforce opportunities and promote community safety. They also provide free or low-cost bikes and repairs for  people experiencing homelessness,” said Senator Dave Cortese, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “The new Race Street retail shop is in the perfect location and will thrive.”

The retail location, located at 253 Race Street in San Jose, is part of Bellarmino Place and Alvarado Park, which are new affordable housing communities in San Jose that had its grand opening today. Supported by the successful Measure A bond measure of 2016, Bellarmino Place provides 116 units for families and Alvarado Park contains 90 units for seniors.
 

Community Cycles of California’s own ribbon cutting and volunteer appreciation event will take place at 253 Race Street at 1:00pm on Friday, September 19th - with District 6 San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy among those in attendance. 

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“Collin, Community Cycles and his colleagues are doing important work in our community and we are grateful for their programs to provide job training and mobility for so many,” said San Jose City Councilmember Mulcahy. “Our team is proud to support their work and connect them with other partners who can help amplify these critical programs.“
 

Since its inception in 2018, Community Cycles of California has provided 5,245 free bike repairs, logged 5,748 Earn-A-Bike volunteer hours, and granted 2,195 free bicycles. The organization has also created and implemented a Bicycle Mechanic and Retail Training workforce training program thanks to a grant from Cupertino Rotary and from the Foundation for California Community Colleges.  
 

More recently, Community Cycles of California has entered a partnership with Santa Maria Urban Ministry, a nonprofit that has been providing food assistance and additional assistance to San Jose residents since 1983.
 

"Our volunteers, our board, and our partners continue to do incredible work providing opportunity for the most vulnerable members of our community ," said Collin Bruce, Co-Founder and CEO. "Our role to improve the physical and economic mobility for others is only possible when we not only work together, but build upon previous partnerships and successes. With this new retail location, we’ll be helping the residents and neighbors of Bellarmino Place and Alvarado Park and setting the stage for expanding our bike repair clinics and Community Cycles of California’s overall reach.”
 

The new retail location at 253 Race Street is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday, and will provide bike sales, new parts, and emergency repairs. The 35 Wilson Street headquarters of Community Cycles of California will continue to provide community programs, a service center, and a volunteer training center - as well as a new ‘pick & pull’ used parts for bicycling do-it-yourselfers.

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About Community Cycles of California

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Community Cycles of California is a 501c3 nonprofit committed to providing opportunity and economic independence with job training, services, and free bicycles to those in need. CCoCA’s paid Small Business Operations Training Program, which teaches bike mechanics and retail management skills to qualify trainees for living-wage jobs, was piloted in 2020 with support from a Santa Clara County workforce development department and Veteran Association groups. Since its establishment in 2017, CCoCA has provided 5,245 free bicycle repairs, logged 5,748 Earn-A-Bike volunteer hours in the community, and granted 2,195 bicycles. CCoCA is based in San Jose and collaborates with numerous Bay Area nonprofits to provide mobile repair clinics, access to repair tools at affordable housing sites, and provide bikes and safety packages to help children in low-income households and adults who rely on bicycles as their primary means of transport.For more information, visit communitycyclesca.org. 

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