On a snow day it's hard to focus on anything indoors or remotely abstract, but we're pulling ourselves away from sleds and snow goons to share some very exciting news:
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is the recipient of a $50,000 21st Century Solutions grant from NBCUniversal Foundation. In its second year, the 21st Century Solutions program "supports initiatives designed to address emerging and ongoing community challenges in new and creative ways." The foundation awarded $100,000 to three Philadelphia non-profits; The Food Trust and The Trust for Public Land each received $25,000 grants.
This grant supports our Walking School Bus program. A little background: our Safe Routes Philly program trains health and physical education teachers in Philadelphia public schools to teach bicycle and pedestrian safety lessons. Since 2010, these lessons have been taught in 133 schools reaching over 60,000 students. With the recent school closures, thousands of students are travelling farther than ever to get to school, crossing unfamiliar and often busy roads. Our Walking School Bus Program organizes teachers and parents into "walking school buses" or parent-led groups that walk students to and from school. This makes the trip to school safer, and builds physical activity into the children's daily lives.
