Saturday, May 19th marks the 5th
Annual Bike Safety Day, a family-friendly event geared to educate children about the importance of wearing properly
fitted helmets to reduce head injuries. Families will have the opportunity
to learn and demonstrate best practices with regard to safety gear and
audio-visual awareness.
The Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem 390 South
Liberty Street will host the event in conjunction
with an array of community-based organizations and businesses.
The event kicks
off at 10:00AM and will finish at 1:00 PM
For more information:
Contact: Hayluri “Luly” Beckles
Joshua’s Friends Foundation
Phone: (336) 409-0526
Hayluri
“Luly” Beckles is forever linked to safety-related causes. She was inspired to
organize the Annual Bike Safety event in honor of her son, Joshua
Palomares-Beckles, who was hit by a drunk-driver while riding his bicycle.
Although armed with a helmet, he succumbed to severe head injuries while being
treated at Wake
Forest University Baptist Medical Center on May 20, 2006. During an interview with the Ride of Silence - a website
dedicated to honor bicyclists killed by motorists, promote sharing the
road, and provide awareness of bicycling safety - Beckles shared her
inspiration for the event by saying, “…As a grieving mother I wanted to do
something to bring awareness about the importance of bike safety. I want
to prevent another child from going through what my child went through
emotionally and physically. I want to prevent families from going through
the terrible pain and suffering my family has had to endure. This [event] is to
help parents understand that when they purchase a
bicycle for their children they are not purchasing a toy but actually their
child’s first vehicle. ”
According to the NC
Department of Transportation, studies show that helmets prevent 60 percent of
head injury deaths and reduce the overall risk of head injuries by 85 percent.
In 2001, North Carolina Governor Michael Easley signed the "Child Bicycle
Safety Act" into law which requires every person under 16 years-old to
wear an approved bicycle helmet when operating a bicycle on any public road,
public bicycle path, or other public right-of-way.
Since its inception
in 2007, The Annual Bike Safety event has not only distributed 630
properly fitted helmets to community children, but has increased community
awareness about the law and continues to capture the hearts and support of
local volunteers and sponsors. The Winston-Salem Downtown Bike Patrol and Crime
Prevention Units, the Children’s Museum of Winston Salem, Safe Kids of
Northwest Piedmont, the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, Work-Family
Resource Center, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers), Chick-Fil-A at Hanes
Mall Blvd., the Gateway YMCA, and Little
Stars of Bethlehem
Preschool have all lent their resources to ensure educational materials and
free helmets reach as many little riders as possible.
This years’ event
will feature a bike rodeo conducted by police officers from the Downtown Bike
Patrol Unit and all materials will be issued in English and Spanish.
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