Volunteering at the Bike Station

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the Bike Station; please find enclosed an application form for an initial 3 month placement.

The Bike Station is one of the UK's largest bike recycling organisations, as well as a charity promoting and supporting all aspects of cycling as a healthy activity and a sustainable means of transport.

We are open Tuesday – Saturday, mainly selling reconditioned bikes that have been repaired by our mechanics, and new and second hand parts and accessories.In our warehouse, we receive old or discarded bicycles from members of the public. They are then sorted either for repair or for dismantling for recycling.Every year, the Bike Station saves over 50 tonnes of material from going into landfill. We also run Fix Your Own Bike sessions twice a week, where cyclists can come and work on their own bicycles, using our fully-equipped workshop.

All of our work is supported by volunteers who want to contribute to the organisation. We are always looking for keen, enthusiastic people who ideally have some experience of cycling or working with bicycles; can work under their own initiative; enjoy working as part of a team or on their own; and are good with assisting members of the public.

The principal volunteering opportunities are:

  • Warehouse volunteer - processing donated bikes; dismantling bikes that can't be repaired; and sorting and keeping parts that can be re-used;
  • Shop volunteer – front-of-house staff helping serve customers in the shop, helping them choose the right bicycle for them; selling accessories; and answering any bike-related queries;
  • Fix Your Own Bike volunteer – leading FYOB sessions, with volunteers using their knowledge and expertise of bike maintenance to guide members of the public in repairing their own bicycles.

If you feel you can make a positive contribution to the Bike Station, to help us recycle even more old bikes and get more people cycling in Edinburgh, please complete the enclosed form and send it back to us.

What happens next?

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer you a placement, but as soon as we have a suitable vacancy for the time slot and/or volunteer role/s that you identify, we will get back to you and ask you to come in for interview. The minimum age for volunteers is 16 years old.

If you have any questions, please email or phone the number below.

Volunteer Application Form

Date of application
Name
Address
Postcode
Tel. (day)
Tel. (eve)
Email
How did you hear about the Bike Station?
Why are you interested in volunteering at the Bike Station?
What is your occupation?
Please tell us about any particular skills, experience or relevant qualifications you can offer.
Which of the following areas of volunteering would you be interested in?
Number in order of preference with 1 as the highest – we use this to match you to volunteering opportunities as they arise (please only number those you are interested in, just leave the others blank).
Fix Your Own Bike – giving advice to members of the public (please note your experience in the section above) / Retail assistant – front-of-house serving customers, selling bikes and accessories, etc.
Dismantling bikes for spare parts / Bike collections (often using a cargo bike – for keen cyclists)
Sorting bicycle parts / Office-based work
Workshop maintenance / General assistant / cleaning
Marketing / promotions / Other (your particular skill)
Please give details:
When are you available to volunteer?
(please tick as many as you can)
10am – 1pm / 2pm – 5pm / FYOB
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday / 4pm – 8pm
Thursday
Friday
Saturday / 12pm – 4pm
Any other time? (please specify)
Please tell us of any medical conditions we should be aware of, in case of emergency.
Please provide details for two referees:
Name / Name
Address
Postcode / Address
Postcode
Tel. / Tel.
Email / Email

Signature:

Print name:

Date:


The Bike Station Monitoring Form

The information submitted on this form is used by the Bike Station to monitor the number and type of volunteers. This will be used to give feedback to some of the people who have donated money to us. Information submitted on this form is confidential. Thank you for your time in completing this form: you are not obliged to answer any of the questions.

1. Sex Female/Male*

2. Age

16-18 / 
19-30 / 
31-50 / 
51-64 / 
65+ / 

3. How would you describe your ethnic origin?*

 / White
 / Pakistani
 / Bangladeshi
 / Indian
 / Black Caribbean
 / Black African
 / Chinese
 / Any other ethnic group (please specify)

4. Do you consider yourself disabled? Yes/No

If yes, please give details.

5. Do you have any comments about this form? Yes/No

*Some people may not be happy with our classification system. If you wish to describe yourself in some other way, please do.