Dustin recalls that one of the Bike and Build team leaders had a friend working for a local nonprofit supporting affordable housing who put them in touch with CSS. Dustin along with long time Hut Crew volunteers Frank Harper and Harold Leeson welcomed the riders to assist with a challenging project. “They helped us tear down six Huts, wash the PVC roofing material, load up a trailer, and take them to our shop to be refurbished. They were a tremendous help,” says Dustin, “so it was a very positive day.”
Bike and Build Volunteers Assist in Refurbishing Huts
Oct. 12, 2023 - By Keith Dickey
Volunteers from Bike and Build in Eugene on August 12, 2023
There are volunteers who drive across town and show up weekly. There are volunteers who travel an hour or two to assist from time to time. And then there are volunteers who bicycle over 4,000 miles, across 10 states and 4 time zones to lend a helping hand. And on August 12 that’s exactly the crew that arrived to assist Facilities Manager Dustin Foskett and his team dismantle, clean, and refurbish six CSS Huts.
Bike and Build organization was established as a nonprofit in 2003. Its website summarizes its mission: “Bike and Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.” As teams bike from town to town, they volunteer for service projects and give presentations about issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. Since 2003 Bike and Build estimates that over 3,800 participants have biked over 11 million miles and donated over 255,000 volunteer community service hours to local organizations throughout the country.
On May 29, a team of about 25 riders dipped the back tires of their bikes in the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and embarked on their journey that would end in Florence, Oregon, on August 14. Riding an average of 60–80 miles per day and stopping along the way to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity builds and other projects, the group eventually arrived in Eugene on August 12.
Frank was impressed with the enthusiasm of the group. “They were amazing!” he recalls. “They tore out six Huts.” According to Frank, the team agreed that, of all the volunteer projects they worked on across the country, their day with CSS was “the best!” “Everybody had something to do and they really helped us.” Frank learned that the group was mostly college-aged participants from across the U.S. but also included riders from as far away as the United Kingdom and Brazil. “It was really a good experience for them,” says Frank.
Harold also enjoyed working with and interacting with the Bike and Build crew. “It was good for the kids. We just sort of told them what to do and they went to it,” Harold recalls. “Frank and I got them together and said ‘these are the things we need to do.’” This included removing the roofs, panels, wall units and floors. “We got all that done in the heat by 1:30. If we would have had a normal crew it would have taken twice as long.”
The following day the riders finished their cross-country journey at the Pacific Ocean in Florence. Frank, an avid cyclist who has biked across the U.S. twice himself, was on hand with the group for the final leg. Family members of the Bike and Build riders traveled to Oregon—including the mother of the U.K. rider—to join in the celebration. “It was really neat to see them once they finished the trip, ” Frank says.
Sadly, this volunteer experience with CSS may have been the last one for the Bike and Build project. According to its website (bikeandbuild.org), the organization is sunsetting and will no longer offer this opportunity for young adults. As bittersweet as that is, the CSS team is appreciative of the opportunity to work with this group of amazing young adults and will remember their assistance for years to come.
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