Community Connectors are ready to roll via Indego
In May, a dozen young people, perched atop iconic, blue Indego two-wheelers, pedaled en mass on a two-mile loop around West Philadelphia. The ride kicked off a new partnership between Indego, the city’s bike share initiative, and the Community Connectors program of West Philly’s People’s Emergency Center CDC (PEC CDC).
Community Connectors are young people from West Philadelphia who are employed and trained to engage their neighbors, reaching people wherever they are to help improve lives and strengthen neighborhoods. Connectors share information about events, resources, and opportunities for families. The program is an ongoing collaboration between PEC CDC and Philadelphia LISC, which provides key support and funding.
“I would say that sometimes people need help, but they don’t necessarily know how to ask for it,” says Nderah Cooper, 16, of Southwest Philadelphia. As a Connector and community engagement leader, Cooper works with residents and seniors to help people access resources, such as home repair programs. Connectors are also mobilizing neighbors and businesses, and building strong networks to discern and meet residents’ needs.
Photos courtesy of the Better Bike Share Partnership
Cooper’s role, she says, is to “give the community resources that could better them and try to bring everybody together.”
PEC CDC’s alliance with Indego is another step toward accomplishing those goals, and it offers the Connectors an accessible mode of transportation. It also “advertises” the bike program to new audiences.
“Connectors come from the community and are a trusted resource,” says Claudia Setubal, Indego’s access manager. “We really want to introduce Indego to the community via the people who are most connected.”
Thanks to the Better Bike Share Partnership, Connectors receive helmets and bicycle safety training from Indego, along with free use of the bikes.To encourage their neighbors to adopt the bike share program, Connectors will hand out Indego discount codes.
One of the payoffs of the partnership, according to Setubal, will be an Indego that is engaged and embedded in the neighborhood. “We’re interested in forging deep connections in the community,” she says, “and PEC is really making those connections happen.”
Stay tuned for updates about this story and the partnership between Indego and PEC CDC.
Click here to see more photos on Facebook and Flickr.
Photos courtesy of the Better Bike Share Partnership