The Bike Project, a charity founded and run by OW Jem Stein (2006), won the National Lottery Good Causes award on Wednesday 26 September in recognition of its sterling work.
The charity renovates and gives second-hand bikes to refugees and asylum seekers who struggle to access other modes of transport, and has provided around 3,700 bikes to vulnerable people in London since it was founded by Stein in 2013.
The charity now employs ten people, and trains refugees as bike mechanics as well as giving away and selling bikes. It has also recently set up a scheme aimed at providing cycling training to refugee women, in an attempt to empower them by giving them better access to jobs, legal advice, healthcare and education.
Stein appeared on BBC One on Wednesday night, receiving the award from TV presenter Louis Theroux alongside the actor David Morrissey, a patron of the charity.
In his speech, he told the assembled crowd: ‘We work with a really vulnerable and marginalised group, and hopefully winning this award will go some way towards not only recognising their plight, but amplifying their voice.’
Stein was interviewed in The Guardian in June, and the project acquired a new 2,000 sq ft workshop in February 2018, allowing it to renovate even more bikes.
To buy a bike from them, donate second-hand bike you may have or volunteer for the Bike Project, please see their website.