Bikes for Kids at New Columbia
We are excited to announce the second Bikes for Kids event on Sunday, July 11th at New Columbia. With support from community volunteers and residents, 60 New Columbia kids, ages 3-8, will receive their first bicycles, new helmets, and bicycle safety education to kick off a summer of two wheeled adventures.
New Columbia is one of two affordable housing communities we are partnering with on the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling and Communities in Motion projects. What started as a community needs assessment has evolved into a new way to deliver thoughtful and culturally-appropriate bike safety programs, including the new Bikes for Kids pilot program.
“We are focusing this year on integrating our youth and adult programs to help get entire families on bicycles so they can spend more time together and be active as a family. This is starting to happen through our partnership with New Columbia,” explains Program Manager Laura Koch.
This spring, eleven 4th and 5th graders from the New Columbia neighborhood participated in a Bike Club held at the nearby University Park and twelve adult residents received bicycles through the Create a Commuter program. After the Create a Commuter workshop, one participant, Jorge, looked forward to riding around the neighborhood with his son, who had just earned his bike through the University Park Bike Club. Michelle, another Create a Commuter participant, was inspired by the workshop and taught her son how to ride so they could also bike together.
Bikes for Kids is a collaborative effort, made possible by our partnership with New Columbia, the enthusiastic work of hundreds of volunteers, and Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s generous donation of helmets. By creating opportunities for community members to learn new skills and gain bike knowledge, we are helping to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits so people of all backgrounds can stay healthy and connected.
Read about the first Bikes for Kids event, at Hacienda, here.
Want to volunteer? We are looking for helmet fitters, escorts, and Spanish interpreters. Check out the volunteer page here.
Photo by Lucas Balzer – somdg.com