2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

It’s time to be heard.

The past year was one defined by the collectivists action of our community. The continued impact of COVID-19 on young people, black communities and those experiencing a socio-economic disadvantage, provided a landscape for community action. We have witnessed and been part of a movement looking for change, seeking a higher quality of life and taking up space - in 2021, we started to be heard.

With the lasting interest many businesses and organisations have displayed in genuine diversity work and anti-racism practices, we have experienced a positive increase in corporate support. The support has been characterised by its meaningful reciprocal nature; with organisations both giving various support to us and similarly receiving support from us.

However, the pandemic forced a shift in how many look at wellness, selfcare, mental health and physical activity, with TFL predicting that walking and cycling increased by 29% between April and June 2020. Strava reported an increase of 35% in Londoners cycling. But who experienced the benefits of this shift? With many companies sold out of affordable bikes for months on end, some of the most underprivilege groups affected by difficult and prohibitive urban landscaping and a lack of space, a number of barriers to accessing walking and cycling persist.

The year was also characterised by the murder of George Floyd in the US, with international outcry and a focus on the impacts of personal and systematic racism many organisations have ramped up their support for combatting racial disparities and inequalities, including providing targeted funding for inactivity among black people, women and those in lower socioeconomic groups, who are least likely to be active, own a bike or cycle.

Furthermore, events of 2020 left many unemployed, isolated from family and friends and uncertain about the future. The legacy of 2020 and COVID-19 in the UK will continue and be a year hard to forget. As an organisation based in inner-city London, we witnessed and supported people experiencing many of the challenges described and adapted our projects to the needs of the community. We hope to continue learning from our community members about how best to support them.

OUR WHY.

Our Why…

We continue our work because all people should be able to create the life they want to live regardless of social, economic or racial barriers; 

All people should be able to access sustainable  employment and feel comfortable at work, regardless of class or creed;

All people should be able to engage in sport and the outdoors, regardless of race, geography or finance. 

Because all opportunities should be genuinely accessible. 

Barriers to sustainable and reliable work 

Continuous claims of full-employment and a recovering economy have many thinking that the only barrier to employment is a lack of will or favouring laziness but a survey of 1000 black people from  ages 16-30 by EY (Getting in and getting on, 2021) confirms what we already knew; Black people are ambitious, class still exists and it’s an issue the UK need to tackle to address unemployment and ever present pay gaps, many major professions continue to be exclusionary, regardless of a individual aptitude and racism, racist remarks and microaggressions are a common workplace experience.

A study conducted in 2020 found that bias and prejudice of employers and their recruitment processes was the main barrier to employment for black people (Clark, 2021). Black people often felt that workplaces were not diverse and  47% felt that they lacked the opportunities or connections. As a black-led organisation, engaging with the black community daily and other non-white populations, we know this discussion continues to go round in circles. Which is why we ask every organisation we work with to commit to our mission to break down barriers to training and employment and genuinely make opportunities accessible.

Barriers to sports and the outdoors

How could there possibly be barriers to going outside and moving around, It sounds absurd, right? Let us provide you with an insight. 

In the UK 47% of children are not getting a minimum of 1 hours exercise per day, for Children from black backgrounds, they  are even less likely to engage in regular physical activity, and are significantly underrepresented in a number of elite and resource consuming sports such as gold, swimming and cycling (Sport England, 2020). The profound findings of racial discrimination, under-engagement and exclusion that AKD Solutions & Sport England, TellYourStory research (2021) has uncovered shows the impact of systemic racism and implicit bias in sport. Many Black people engaged in sport felt that the engagement spaces were psychologically unsafe and places where negative stereotypes were pushed on them and accepted as the norm. The findings show that many participants were pushed out of sports or unable to continue to participate because of these experiences.

We recognise that such experiences, coupled with geographical and socio-economic barriers to sports and outdoor engagement significantly reduce the likelihood of initial and sustained engagement. 

Our work looks to overcome these barriers by providing a safe space, directly targeting black populations of all ages with genuinely accessible opportunities to participate, experience encouragement and re-write their sports story. 

Community Inclusion & Diversity, Buzz Words or Genuine Change?

For years the term inclusion and diversity has been thrown around in response to shocking statistics on pay gaps between men and women and ethnic minority groups and white people, they resurface in both genuine and tokenistic ways when we experience an awakening or crisis of conscience as we did with the murder of George Floyd, reminding us of how fundamental human rights vary in the west depending on the colour of your skin. We were grateful for the support many organisations provided us with and those who looked to us for guidance on engaging the black community during the summer of 2021, but we remained rationally sceptical about how long the lives of living black people would stay a priority. 

Truth be told, it has been a mixed bag. Our organisation is still regularly approached to undertake free work, that provides a lucrative benefit or a necessary tick in a diversity box to others with no offer of a trade-off or payment but many organisations both big and small have recognised the value of our work and our contribution to the genuine diversity and inclusion mission and are willing to pay fairly for this insight as you would any other product or service. ( add the value we bring based on our community impact) 

From our experience we know our mission aims are not yet met and we see some of the progress the UK and UK companies are making to ensure that everyone can access opportunities without the barriers that racism and classism have long presented but we recognise the road ahead is a long one and will only be met through collaborative experiences that are equitable for all. 

Facts & Figures.

As we continue to grow, so does our community. We had our highest rate of engagement from March 2021-February 2022, where we worked with over 600 people on cycling and employment based projects. 

OUR COMMUNITY WORK

Last year the collective voice of Black people was heard in the cycling arena. We worked on a number of collaborative events including

Active London with London Sport and Will Norman, Sustrans Diversity Consultation, The Black Unity Bike Ride and Hackney Walking and Cycle workshop and were privately commissioned to consult on diversity initiatives with 4 corporate organisations, to contribute to the wider community discussion on engaging people facing barriers to cycling. We were happy to contribute to a successful and genuine effort made by charities, corporate partners and government institutions to make cycling inclusive and reflective of the UK’s diversity.

But we were only able to make meaningful contributions because of the great people who make up our community and access our projects. We ran 9 cycling initiatives involving a mix of cycle tuition, road cycle training, adult community cycling, youth community cycling, family cycling events, amateur cycling sportives and bike maintenance and safety events. 

Through our cycling initiatives we engaged over 450 people between the ages of 4 and 78 in a community based cycle activity. We ran 47 individual cycling sessions and events totalling over 150 hours of free and accessible cycling opportunities for the community; including the opportunity to learn to ride, develop cycle confidence and skill, enjoy social and community rides, or join a longer ride and conquer a challenge.

“we have always lived around here, but I would never take my son to cycle on the canal, I just wasn’t confident it was safe, today has helped with that”

Hackney Parent

“I don’t like cycling alone, so when I saw free group cycles, at a pace I could keep up with, I thought why not give it a try”

Hackney Resident

We successfully positioned our community as the experts on their own lived experience and we have been able to provide opportunities to individuals and independent black led cycling groups. Working in collaboration inspired the creation of the London Sports Partnership, which works with a shared mission of reducing the barriers to sports for all under-represented groups. We are incredibly proud of this work, which helps to support the continuation of grassroots sports activities. These partnerships provide a shared learning space, the opportunity for networking, sustainability development and the much needed support system that helps small organisations face challenges. 

One of our core values is about connecting the community, we were set up to provide a bridge between people and opportunities where previously there had been a tightrope. In sticking to our values, we are proud to have secured brand sponsorships, ambassador endorsements, interviews, media and PR opportunities for cyclists and cycle clubs working hard to reduce barriers to cycling for all. 

Our cycling activities and annual ride to Southend-on-Sea raised £1800 which helped 45 families and 72 children access back to school resources which on average cost £191 per child according to NimbleFins 2020 research. Thanks to the work of many charities and community organisations like ours, we were pleased to hear that in November 2021 the Department for Education published legally binding guidance on the cost of school uniform, helping to bring down the overall expense families face. 

 Over 130 people from our community signed up to participate in the Black Unity Bike Ride on 7th August 2021 which was a great success. We provided over 100 hours of volunteer time from our internal team, working on planning the event and the monitoring and evaluation process thereafter. We also supported the recruitment and development of 150 volunteers with training sessions for their event day roles.  We’re privileged to have been part of development and upscaling of the annual ride through our strategic support. 

We worked with various organisations on equality, diversity, equity and change in employment and sport including AKD Solutions, London Marathon Events, Sustrans, Hackney Council, British Cycling, Rapha and Trek UK. Our discussions and workshops provided insight into the lived experience of people who experience economic, racial and criminal justice barriers to participating in society and culture. 

Our work with the Adu X for the BBC resulted in a heart-warming mini-documentary on the work of Black Riders Association and the Black Unity Bike Ride. Our organisation and Director, Temi faced racial abuse after the video’s release with a number of derogatory comments and racially fuelled remarks, it was reminder of why we continue our work and ensure we keep our focus on the communities that need us most. 

We provided CV support, wellbeing coaching and employment connections or opportunities to 60 people in our community, working with a number of local businesses and entrepreneurs, we helped connect people as they transitioned out of the pandemic, experienced redundancy as the furlough scheme ended or were looking to change their line of work for better job security. All of this work was unfunded. We continue to provide this support to people as we recognise the empowerment people experience from engaging in work, being part of a community and being able to provide for themselves. We engaged with people who experience illiteracy and mental health issues to help them navigate the job market. We supported employers that we work with to make their job applications more accessible by accepting written or recorded applications. 

WHO WE WORKED WITH

96% of people who participated in our activities identified as black African, Caribbean or mixed black. 47% of people engaged were between 18-35 years old, 24% were under 18 and 29% were above 36. 

More than half of the people who participated in our cycling community activities reported that they exercised for 1hr or less per week independently or as  a family unit, 20% reported that they experience a physical or mental health ailment. 17% reported sometimes feeling lonely.  

69% of people said they joined one or more of our activities to feel part of the community or do something social.

12% said they would like to try cycling daily, as part of a commute or as an individual activity, after joining 1 or more of our lead rides.

Of those taught to cycle as part of our Cycle of Life program, 37% had maintained regular cycling activities at least 2 times per week after 3 months, whilst 26% were still engaging in cycling on a monthly basis. 

SUSTAINABILITY

One of our key focuses in 2021, with the expansion of cycling work was working towards newly set sustainability goals. We recognised the importance of our work continuing and how meeting the financial costs of those activities would place a heavy burden on the organisation without creative avenues to generate income that we could re-invest. 

We created a merchandise line and Christmas campaign to support its launch. We have adapted our events advertising to accept donations from those who are able to give, which goes a long way in supporting the cost of events. Our seasonal campaigns supported by sponsors and affiliates have enabled us to generate money that we are able to use to support our infrastructure. 

We continue to work towards economic sustainability in 2022 which will help to fund the development of My Choice as a dependable community resource. 

If your organisation is interested in supporting our sustainability mission, why not book one of our CSR volunteer days or lead cycle rides for your colleagues or team. 

THEORY OF CHANGE.

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE

In 2021 we fleshed out our theory of change, as we continue to serve our community, we thought it was important to define what’s on offer. Through project evaluation and engaging directly with the community to hear their views and gain feedback, we were able to generate a robust theory of change that now guides our project work and community action. 

In summary our ToC has two overarching impact goals that shape our work:

1. To improve the personal and financial wellbeing and life chances of people from various under-served backgrounds; persons of black heritage, people who have been impacted by or experienced the criminal justice system and those who experience race and class barriers aged 17 and up, through project-based community work

2. To improve access to skill-developing, creative or sports opportunities and expand the aspirational horizons of children located in areas that are over exploited, under-developed or densely populated. 

To read our full Theory of Change, visit our website here.

HACKNEY 

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY GOALS – A FAIRER, SAFER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE PLACE 

We share the 5 key themes Hackney outlines as part of it’s community strategy. Our work aims to break down the economic and racial barriers residents face whilst upskilling and supporting community members to lead on improving their quality of life, increasing their physical and social activity and living more sustainably. 

We aim to work more closely with businesses, organisations and social entrepreneurs in the borough to provide local people, who are invested in the future of Hackney, with living wage work inside healthy and progressive businesses. 

Our ethos and practice aims to bring about community cohesion inside a borough that is home to a highly diverse population; with regards to both economic status and racial and ethnic background. We use the power of shared interest, food and fun to create ‘community’ and bring people together who almost certainly would continue to live separate lives.

TREK 

SHIFT CYCLING MODE-SHARE & THE RULE OF 430

We share the mission to move people from unsustainable and polluting modes of transport to cycling. We believe that everyone should have affordable access to bikes, whether that be through shared or individual ownership. We believe in combating barriers to bike riding that are often experienced by city residents, including space, security and safety. 

We support Trek’s commitment to making cycling accessible across the globe. We’ve started with our communities in London and Lagos. We’re excited to support our riders to make the shift from polluting transport mode to replacement journey’s by bike, helping to offset emissions. 

We also champion Trek UK’s commitment to increasing diversity in cycling and business. The Trek UK team have supported us in participating in event’s where we have been able to self-advocate our mission and gain additional support. We believe in their employee lead approach to tackling change backed by senior management. 

BRING BIKES, JOBS AND STORES TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES

We  champion Treks ‘All in’ commitment to fight systemic racism in the cycling industry and beyond. We know that one of the barriers to sustaining cycling is a lack of access to much needed resources. Through our work donating bikes to community members, helping them to access the shops, knowledge and cycling support they need, we have seen a wider uptake in cycling. We aim to continue this work and whilst brick and mortar infrastructure is unavailable to some of our community, we will push past this and provide the resource inside the community. 

GOALS WE ALIGN WITH

UNITED NATIONS 2040 GOALS

GOAL 1 – NO POVERTY 

We operate inside some of the UK’s most economically disadvantaged communities, often balancing minimum wage jobs with the cost of living. We are committed to working with employers and corporate sponsors of our work to pay the living wage as a minimum. We provide eye-opening workshops for employers and senior management teams to understand the difficulties faced by low-paid staff and how organisational change can positively impact the lives.

GOAL 3 – GOOD HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Our approach to the outdoors and cycling actively encourages healthy living through movement. We’re well known for providing a good hot meal too, combining healthy eating and movement. Our projects help those under-represented in sports to venture into something new supported by a community network. 

GOAL 8 – DECENT WORK & ECONOMIC GROWTH 

We work with members of the community to provide opportunities to upskill, helping them to move from unstable work to work that meets their financial needs and life circumstances. We support community members in venturing into new or different work environments and provide longer term support in maintaining jobs. 

GOAL 10 – REDUCED INEQUALITIES

Our training, employment and sports programmes are targeted at communities experiencing access barriers and outcome inequalities. Our programmes provide the support community members need to choose and maintain lifestyle changes that help to combat the inequality they experience. But we recognise the responsibility for change lies with individuals and institutions upholding inequality, so we work in tandem with employers, Local Authorities, international companies and organisations to break down the economic and racial barriers they reproduce. 

GOAL 13 – CLIMATE ACTION 

We take climate action seriously, recognising that communities here in the UK and across the world, without financial resources and social capital may be worst hit by the climate crisis, we endeavour to promote sustainable travel, sustainable business practice and community action against climate issues. We support our local groups on the ground, including Trash Free Trails, Sustrans and London Cycling Campaign, working hard to change public behaviour and legislation. 

GOAL 16 – PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

We are continuing to dedicate our resources to creating a genuinely inclusive and diverse society at all levels and through all institutions and organisations. We comprehend the enormity of this task but believe our project work and collaborative efforts since 2017 have already contributed to significant changes for black people in cycling and perceptive change and inclusion practice for the organisations we are partnered with.  

GOAL 17 – PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS

We are a small organisation with a mighty vision. We truly believe in the collective power of people and organisations to bring about change. We actively promote our work with others and help to propel other grassroots organisations into the spaces that will benefit the community. We provide access to sponsors, funders, advice and connections to ensure that knowledge and resources are shared and distributed for maximum community benefit.

Impact.

Our mission continues to be about making opportunities accessible for all by reducing the barriers that race and socioeconomics play in education, training, health, sports and employment.

Reflecting on the past year, we proudly say that our work is contributing to wider systemic change. Our idea’s and community models are being adopted by international businesses, Local Authorities, national sporting bodies and peer grassroots organisations.

As we continue to make opportunities genuinely accessible and look back at our conception and at the journey that brought us here, we recognise a need to focus our energy and resources on our young people and adults who need another chance at building a life they want. We’re excited to be embarking on a number of meaningful initiatives to help spark change for young people and adults at risk of, or experiencing the criminal justice system.

Looking Ahead

We have a  jam packed year, with increasing opportunities. We’re excited to be working with many more organisations who believe in the mission – breaking down barriers and making opportunities more accessible. 

Check out our calendar and get involved!

My Choice community membership rate since 2017

Thank you.

Our work is only possible because our community believes in it, supports it and co-create it. We know this and we thank you for continuing to support us. 

We are grateful to supporting organisations including London Youth, Hackney Council and TFL for believing in us and providing much needed resources and support for our projects. We appreciate the support of leading diversity and inclusion consultancy, AKD solutions. 

We thank Trek UK and the dedicated team they have for helping us tap into and develop the potential of our community, for providing opportunities and resources for our community work.

Thank you to Jo, Tom and Tenyson from Zappi for thinking of us and fundraising to support our community cycling work.  

We continue to appreciate the support of Sustrans, London Cycling Campaign, London Marathon Events in championing our community and the work we do. Thank you to BADU sport for collaborating with us and providing additional support to our families in need. 

Thank you to Food Junkee, BODIED, Lorna Fergus and BUBR for contributing to our winter fundraiser and to Hackney based MET Police who have supported our expanding community work and demonstrated a willingness to listen and move toward change.

your support changes the future

Features

Bike is Best, BBC, London Cycling Campaign, Active London

Thank you to Sustrans, Hackney, Kendal Mountain Festival, London Marathon, Blenheim Triathlon, BUBR, Together We Ride, British cycling, Rapha and TfL diversity in cycling, Active London & London cycling campaign for hosting us at your events and showcasing the work being done to make opportunities accessible and break down racial and economic access barriers.