Good Cycles Impact Snapshot 2022: Creating Positive Change
We are thrilled to share our Impact Snapshot for 2022. Despite the challenges that we all faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, we remained steadfast in our mission to reduce barriers to employment and have managed strong growth to create more job opportunities and impact than ever.
Youth Employment Program (YEP): Empowering 36 Young People
It was a big year for our Youth Employment Program (YEP) with over 23,000 hours of work conducted across 36 YEP participants.
Our YEP provides individual coaching support, skills development and training, and real-world work experience to young people facing barriers to employment, such as insecure housing, mental health challenges, and other forms of socioeconomic and socio-cultural disadvantage.
Our impact data shows how we are able to empower a diverse group of young individuals by unlocking aspirations and supporting them in their transition toward secure employment pathways
Of course, we can only do this thanks to our amazing staff and our commercial, philanthropic, academic and governmental partners who support us in our commitment to impact and social enterprise.
We’d like to send out a BIG thank you to everyone who came down to our Brunswick store launch on Friday 31st March to help give our newest store an official ‘Welcome’!
We felt well and truly welcomed amidst the @nightingale.housing Villiage precinct. Thanks to our friends, supporters, and local residents for bringing the festive cheer.
If you’re yet to check out our Brunswick store, it’s located on Duckett Street, Brunswick, easily found by bike along the Upfield Bike path. Feel free to poke your head in and say ‘Hi’. We’re open Monday – Friday, 8am to 5pm.
A big thank you to our embers, supporters & friends who came along and helped us celebrate the opening of our Brunswick store!
Initially opening our doors in late December 2022, we’ve since been busy completing the fit out and merchandising our newest store. A massive thank you to social enterprise YMCA ReBuild and fellow Brunswick locals, WOODBEAST who’ve been instrumental in fitting out our shop and workshop areas with custom cabinetry and counters.
The poster for the launch event
Our new store is conveniently located along the Upfield bike path, next to the Upfield train line
Good Cycles is proud to partner with the Queen Victoria Market and STREAT to help create 'The Purpose Precinct' – a showcase of Victorian social enterprise products and services located in the Market’s String Bean Alley.
With the backing of the Victorian Government and Social Enterprise Network of Victoria, The Purpose Precinct brings together a range of unique products and services from over 20 Victorian social enterprises such as Clothing the Gaps and HoMie, with many more to come.
Alongside a select range of Good Cycles’ bicycle products, is a curated and rotating range of goods all made, designed and/or recycled from sustainably and ethically sourced materials; including homewares, preserves and other non-perishable food, home-growing supplies, clothing and accessories. Good Cycles will also offer bicycle servicing in the near future.
Queen Victoria Market CEO Stan Liacos says the Market is proud to partner with Good Cycles and STREAT, which sits well with the Market’s history and future plans.
“Throughout its 140-year history, Queen Victoria Market has provided access to essential fresh food, goods and services to Melburnians, as well as being an important part of the city’s social fabric. The Purpose Precinct brings a unique mix of quality products and services, helping to achieve our goal to diversify the Market’s offerings to appeal to Melburnians and contribute to positive economic and social outcomes,” he said.
“Throughout its 140-year history, Queen Victoria Market has provided access to essential fresh food, goods and services to Melburnians, as well as being an important part of the city’s social fabric.
The Purpose Precinct brings a unique mix of quality products and services, helping to achieve our goal to diversify the Market’s offerings to appeal to Melburnians and contribute to positive economic and social outcomes.”
“We’re excited to call Queen Victoria Market our new home. The Purpose Precinct will create a front door for social enterprises to work together to engage the community and deliver products and services to help people, places and the planet to thrive. Our ambition is to see hundreds of Victorian social enterprises represented in the Precinct over the coming years, all working together not only to create better cities, but also meaningful employment opportunities for Victorians.”
STREAT CEO Rebecca Scott says many of Victoria’s social enterprises create employment opportunities for people who face structural barriers to work.
“The Purpose Precinct will showcase products and services being made in all corners of the state, and we’re excited for people to have a taste of the delicious things the sector has to offer.”
Good Cycles CEO Jaison Hoernel says the team is thrilled to be part of the Market’s diverse and thriving culture.
“We’re excited to call Queen Victoria Market our new home. The Purpose Precinct will create a front door for social enterprises to work together to engage the community and deliver products and services to help people, places and the planet to thrive.
“Our ambition is to see hundreds of Victorian social enterprises represented in the Precinct over the coming years, all working together not only to create better cities, but also meaningful employment opportunities for Victorians.”
Social Enterprise and Not for Profit participants of the Precinct include:
We would like to show our deepest gratitude to all those people that helped make this happen, in particular The Queen Victoria Market, the Victorian Government, STREAT, SENVic and an extra special mention to Silas and our hard-working Good Cycles staff. It’s an exciting time for social enterprise and we can’t wait to see you down at String Bean Alleyto support everyone involved.
The day itself is all about creating safe, empowering and inclusive environments for LGBTQI+ young people. This is especially important in the workplace, particularly where people may have had negative experiences, or not feel they were able to be themselves for fear of judgment or discrimination.
Kirra (Head of Innovation and Impact) with Jaison (CEO) and Mihai and Ivan from our Operations team
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WIPD2022 in full effect!
The events, which also marked the commencement of work on Good Cycles’ Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, were attended by approximately 60 staff and a great time was had by all.
Right from the get-go, Darren showed a high level of resourcefulness, determination and negotiation; his enthusiasm when performing his various tasks and a natural aptitude for problem solving became a source of motivation for others, “People talk to me and they tell me “How do you solve those problems so quickly?”… Being able to think both inside and outside the box [is key].”
Through his experience at Good Cycles, Darren was able to improve and strengthen his communication and teamwork skills. Darren noted that he “used to avoid teamwork but now I’m comfortable during shifts… Communication and keeping in contact with people so they know what is going on is a big thing.”
Another big thing for Darren was the chance to be given opportunities to build personal and professional connections particularly at Citywide. In fact, one of his professional goals was to move to Citywide into a permanent position there. Darren noted that, when he was able to work at the Citywide-operated Degraves Street Recycling facility during his time at Good Cycles, he was able to make both personal and professional connections:
They assisted me in that they provided a comfortable working space which – for me – is one of the biggest things. The training they provided was sufficient for me [too].
After making use of the skills, networks and experience he gained in working shifts at the Facility, he successfully achieved his goal and moved into a permanent position at Citywide in December 2021.
Quality time with his children and family is particularly important for Darren: Darren was able to “spend more time with my kids and family” through the flexible shift structures at Good Cycles. More significantly, being employed meant being able to afford more secure housing and provide financially for his young family. Through the job security that came with working at Good Cycles, Darren was able to make huge progress in achieving his twin life goals of “a good home for my family” and “kids growing up healthy and happy”.
There are a lot of great initiatives going on. Just as well – it has been pretty tough going lately. Everything Good Cycles does to make mental health a reality for all is actively supported by you, our members. We do not provide a ‘mental health service’. There are other important and accessible initiatives to make a real difference to mental health and well-being, like:
Promoting cycling
Fostering participation
Creating jobs
Cycling is so effective for well-being that riding is one of the ‘alternative prescriptions’ doctors around the world recommend for mental health. If you want to know more about just how much you are helping yourself by cycling, read more from our friends at Bicycling Australia.
Obviously, it’s a lot easier to benefit from cycling if you have access to a bike. That’s one of the reasons Good Cycles has donated 60 bikes in the last 12 months to help people participate in the social and economic life of our communities. It might include exercise, visiting friends, or getting to work. It doesn’t matter whether you ride for the mental health benefits; they happen anyway.
It takes a bit of coordination and planning to create jobs, and as supporters of Good Cycles, it’s one of the things our members enable. The research evidence is ‘strongly supportive of a causal relationship’ between unemployment and mental ill-health. Our jobs are specifically targeted for those who are under-represented in the workforce so it is also one of the initiatives that improves mental health equity. Thanks again, members.
Dylan began his journey like many of Good Cycles’ social program participants, entering the Pedal Empowerment Program (PEP) after a lengthy period of unemployment.
This is Nathan. He’s been a trainee with Good Cycles for two months now, so no doubt you’ve seen him around. Maybe in the workshop, probably at the Hub or maybe out on the Melbourne streets racking up the ks on his bike.
It goes without saying that evaluating and reporting on social impact is both incredibly important and extremely time-consuming for social enterprises. That’s why we’re excited to be working with Swinburne University, through the Social Enterprise Impact Lab (SEIL), to help make the process simpler and clearer for everyone involved.
