Youth en Route gives away 45 bikes at Forest Lawn High School
We called it our big, bike giveaway. And it sure was. Forty-five students at Forest Lawn High School rode a bike home today – many for the first time.
“It was so rewarding, knowing these kids are going to have a great summer with a bike to get around,” said Youth en Route Cyclist in Residence Rob Crooks, who was on hand with the rest of the YER team to manage the distribution.
Meeting kids where they are at
Over the past school year, Youth en Route has worked with 14 classes and over 400 students at Calgary’s Forest Lawn High School, teaching basic cycling skills. Physical education 20 and 30, Paced Learning classes; Literacy, English and Academic Development (LEAD); Indigenous Learning, and English as a Second Language classes were all exposed to cycling.
After three years in operation, Youth en Route has realized that skills alone won’t change transportation choices. If we want teens to be healthy and independent, we need to actually give them the tools to do that. So, we offered every Grade 10 and 11 student at Forest Lawn who has been through our program a bike, a helmet, and a lock.
“We know that for a student to be able to choose to bike, they need cycling skills, safe routes, and secure storage, and we’re working on all of those things,” explains Laura Shutiak, founder and executive director of Youth en Route. “But without access to a bike, none of the rest really matters. We show kids why they should want a bike, and now we’re providing them too.”
All hands on deck
YER knows that students need more than a bike. That’s why we were there to fit helmets, set up combination locks and get every bike registered on Bike Index.
Students even learned how to pump their tires, and received maps and information about local routes and bicycling tips.
Excited students
After receiving their bicycle, students could lock them on the bike racks provided to Forest Lawn High School by Youth en Route. It wasn’t long before the bike racks filled up!
“I’m so excited to get the bike today for free, so thank you so much, I appreciate you guys,” says Aman, a Grade 12 student at FLHS. “I’d like to ride my bike to school, work, shopping. I’m so excited! Thank you so much.”
Youth en Route funded the Bike Giveaway with donations. The bikes made up the school’s fleet but rather than have them sit at school all summer, YER and school administration decided to hand them out. They are the students to keep, but we have suggested that if they find they don’t ride it, they can return it to the school in the fall.
The event also gave us a big problem. Another 23 students stopped by to see what was happening and begged us to get a bike for them. So we’re trying to figure out how to make more donations happen.
If you want to help, reach out and let us know!
