Who We Are
Bike & Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that fosters a sustained connection to community. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.
Bike & Build was founded in New York City by Marc Bush who, after leading a cross-country trip with the (now discontinued) Yale Habitat Bicycle Challenge in 2001, was inspired to expand and improve their model. Bike & Build’s inaugural routes – Central United States and Northern United States – dipped their wheels in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in 2003. After that, Bike & Build added a new cross-country trip every year for the next six summers.
After growing for five years in the Big Apple, Bike & Build relocated to Philadelphia to enjoy a more central East Coast location, less expensive operating costs, and more accessible van and trailer storage. Always valuing function over form, the first office in the City of Brotherly Love was a concrete box behind a 7-11 (you can’t make this stuff up). After around a decade at our office in Roxborough, Bike & Build relocated to the Bok Building in South Philly in 2019.
What We Do
Bike & Build's main programming consists of cross country and regional bike trips, as well as single day Community Rides across the country.
Each summer, dozens of young adults join our teams and pedal from coast to coast, learning, advocating, and volunteering with affordable housing organizations. Participants bike over 4,000 miles, making it from the East coast to the West coast in 80 days, with 14 days along the route as volunteer days with local nonprofit organizations. Our teams engage in our affordable housing curriculum, meeting leaders and organizers on the road, and volunteer with affordable housing organizations. Our riders leave their Bike & Build trip having had the experience of a lifetime, a greater understanding of affordable housing and social justice issues, and how to advocate for change in their community.
Our Community Rides are single day rides in cities throughout the country where folks of all ages join for a 10-15 mile bike ride through their city, stopping 3 times to learn about and from local affordable housing organizations, agencies and leaders. These rides offer an in depth look at affordable housing on the local level, and allow participants to learn and get involved in advocating for affordable housing in their area.
Details
| (609) 451-0463 | |
| casey@bikeandbuild.org | |
| Casey Eisenreich | |
| Director of Operations & Development | |
| http://www.bikeandbuild.org |
