Indego Community Ambassadors help keep Indego and the communities it serves connected. Working closely with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, these Ambassadors were busy this season organizing bicycle safety classes, group rides, and other events that focus on introducing biking to their communities!

2019 brought together some seasoned ambassadors like Strawberry Mansion CD and Mantua Civic Association’s DeWayne Drummond, as well as newcomers to the Indego team such as Mount Vernon Manor CDC, Mom Your Business, Girl Trek, Real Life CDC, and SEAMAAC. The mixture of experience and expertise produced a season that was filled with lots of smiles, new partnerships, and some phenomenal events. 

As the Better Bike Share Partnership team reflects on this past season, we asked two of our ambassadors to share their thoughts on the work they’ve done with Indego within their community in addition to highlights of the 2019 Indego Community Ambassador season.

As President of the Mantua Civic Association and Chairman of the 24^th Ward Democratic Executive Committee, DeWayne Drummond is a man who wears many different hats. Since Indego launched in 2015, DeWayne has been an Indego Ambassador in an official and unofficial capacity. DeWayne’s community engagement and connections have helped strengthen Indego’s utilization throughout the Mantua area.

DeWayne reflected on Indego in his community, “I believe Indego is addressing equity in Mantua by collaborating with strong civic leaders and community development corporations that are making positive impacts in the neighborhood. Being a seasoned ambassador, my purpose is to advocate for and represent the issue and concerns of residents, to improve the quality of life for all, and preserve the identity and history of Mantua for the next generation.”

“I can truly say a highlight for this 2019 Indego Ambassador season was a group ride I organized with Royal Little Sisters, Inc. This non-profit organization provides a mentoring program for young females ages 5-18 years old. Their bike ride included several of the organization’s members of its Board of Directors, mentors, parents, and volunteers, representing a diverse range in ages from 21-52 years old.  It was truly a fun and rewarding experience for everyone as we displayed remarkable teamwork, acquired some great cardio exercise, and enhanced our bike riding skills!”

Cooper Richardson is the Community Development Associate at SEMAAC and works to improve programs and build capacity in communities that serve immigrant residents in the South Philadelphia area. Cooper said, “Through the Ambassador program, Indego has worked hard to ensure that it is ​addressing equity in the Philadelphia community. Indego is making sure that it is aware of community needs across the City and within diverse neighborhoods, ​and that those neighborhoods know about the resources available through Indego. As a result, the Indego Resource Fair, held in October, was a tremendous success — with an array of important resources, city residents were able to learn about programs that could help them and their communities.”

“One thing we learned this season was how much of a need there is in our local community for adult biking education. Unknown to us, many of our neighbors have never ridden a bike in their lives. Having 17 people show up to our first Learn-to-Ride event was quite a surprise, and the class was so popular that we held a second one! We’re happy to be working with Indego to bring better access to bike transportation into the South Philly East neighborhood, and this experience has motivated us to survey our neighbors to see what other educational opportunities are needed.”

Our 2019 season was a success thanks to our awesome Indego Community Ambassadors! Interested in joining the 2020 Indego Community Ambassador team? Look out for our open application in February of 2020. For more information please contact Stephanie Ridgeway directly at stephanie.ridegway@phila.gov.

This blog was written by Stephanie Ridgeway, the Indego Community Coordinator for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability.

The Better Bike Share Partnership is an effort led by the City of Philadelphia that works to ensure that Indego bike share is accessible to all Philadelphians. The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation.