The mission of Boston-based nonprofit Bikes Not Bombs? “Using the bicycle as a vehicle for social change.”
What started as a group of passionate cyclists in 1984 providing aid bicycles to people in the Global South now has a double-sided mission: Bolstering international aid while building economic resilience among marginalized youth in Boston.
The Bikes Not Bombs shop is full of teen mechanics in a 10-week program learning how to care for and operate a used bike, which they get to keep upon graduating.
Then, they have the opportunity to work in the shop — about 200 young people repair and refurbish thousands of bikes every year.
Over the last four decades, the organization estimates it has shipped over 80,000 bikes to developing countries, in addition to secondhand bikes sold to local cyclists directly out of the shop.
The group has also opened up self-supporting bike shops in places like Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, training local technicians to build resilience and sustainability themselves.
The goal, in the U.S. and abroad, is to provide people a means of transportation without reliance on fossil fuels (which are a large contributing factor to global conflict, thus the “not bombs” part of the organization’s mission).
“Our roots are in shipping bikes across the world,” Sara Gonzalez, the organization’s donation coordinator, told The Dorchester Reporter.
“As we’ve evolved, some of our members say the ‘not bombs’ aspect has given way to become a tool of cultivating opportunities. Bikes can be a tool of prosperity in developing areas.”
Back home, Bikes Not Bombs hosts communal rides, safety seminars, fundraisers, and an annual three-day Youth Bike Summit for young mechanics, activists, and cyclists interested in making a difference.
“It’s like my second home,” added Antonio Venus Reeves, who first brought a bike to the shop for repair 10 years ago, and now works there as an associate.
“I’m always learning something new every day.”
A version of this article was originally published in The 2025 Sports Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
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Header image courtesy of Bikes Not Bombs
