During today’s (11/29/2021) sustainable living show we talked to Jon Dengler who is the CEO of WellBuilt Bikes in Tampa.
Dengler is also the executive director of The Well, a local non-profit composed of a community of people committed to living in direct relationship with the materially poor. The Well, which is located in Tampa, seeks to meet needs and provide support for the poor, to accomplish the vision of, “Needs met, bridges built, a city made whole.”
To support this vision, The Well has created their first social enterprise, WellBuilt Bikes, which refurbishes and sells bicycles.
“WellBuilt Bikes is a non-profit bike shop,” said Dengler. “We sell refurbished bikes at affordable prices. We have a full service repair shop. And then we invest all of the service and sales revenue into a couple different programs, mainly our Earn-a-bike program so folks who may not have the funds to purchase a bike and acquire their own needs of transportation can get a bike through community service hours.”
Dengler’s motivation behind creating WellBuilt Bikes comes from seeing a need for a reliable means of transportation, especially for those who are less fortunate and can’t afford to pay for a new bike.
Dengler is known throughout the city for his commitment to the community and providing strategic support.
“It comes from discontent. It comes from not wanting to live in a city that doesn’t work for all of our neighbors,” said Dengler. “So you either opt-out of a city or life like that or you give everything you have to move it toward the thing you envision.”
At the end of the day, Dengler just wants to see communities come together and help each other. He wants cities to be built around the community and establish a better support system so we can end homelessness once and for all.
“Beyond the bike shop, our vision for our city is really a well-built city. A city that meets all of our needs,” said Dengler. “The details of what were doing with bicycles, I’d love to see that emerge in homebuilding and in every type of business and marketplace that we create businesses that are primarily good neighbors. And then they are also sustainable as companies.”
