Recycle Ithaca's Bicycles (RIBs), Southside Community Center's bicycle program, urgently needs volunteers on a regular basis to work two to six hours weekly, both from home or on-site at its new home on South Corn Street.

RIBs needs one or two volunteers to help with management of the program as well as to staff the RIBs facility and work from home, making phone calls and schedules. None of these volunteer positions require any knowledge of bicycles.

"RIBs is entirely dependent on the use of committed volunteers to supervise youth, clean, organize, fund raise and do repairs. We critically need permanent Ithaca residents to help out -- patience is necessary, but bike repair skills are not," said Andy Ruina, director of RIBs and associate professor of theoretical and applied mechanics at Cornell University and director of Cornell's Human Power, Biomechanics and Robotics Laboratory, which focuses on applying engineering principles to understand the mechanics of human and robotic locomotion. Recent lab projects include the design and construction of a tension-based mountain bike suspension, the design of a two-speed unicycle and an analysis of passive dynamic walking.

RIBs is a program of the Southside Community Center that allows youth and adults to earn a bike helmet, bicycle, parts or repair help by working at the RIBs shop or doing other public service. Since 1990, the program has given away more than 1,200 bikes and 200 helmets and assisted in thousands of bike repairs. In March 1994, RIBs trucked 144 bicycles to Pedals for Progress in New Jersey for shipping to the Dominican Republic. Pedals for Progress sent the truck back to Ithaca with 193 helmets and other bike supplies not in demand in the Dominican Republic.

RIBs' financial support has come from the city of Ithaca, Cornell University's Faculty-Fellows-in-Service Program, the Tompkins County Youth Bureau, Ben and Jerry's Foundation, the Women's Service League, Ithaca Money and private donations.

To volunteer, call RIBs on Saturdays at 256-5355 or 277-5675 at other times. Information about RIBs on the World Wide Web is available at http://tam.cornell.edu/faculty/ruina/www_ribs/ribs.html.