May 12 Newsletter

Rollin' through Spring... View this email in your browser

Read more about: Let's Get Rolling Wrap Up Thank You Earn-a-Bike Graduation Summer Volunteers Support Us

Let's Get Rolling was a Success! This Spring at M.E. Pearson Elementary we reached 75 fourth grade students, teaching safe ride skills and even got several students rolling that hadn't been on a bike before! To conclude the session, we hosted a Bike Rodeo for our students and their families. We were able to give away 30 bikes to fourth graders and their younger siblings so they can keep practicing safe riding. All of our students received their very own helmet thanks to the generous donations from the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City. Earn-a-Bike Graduation Our Earn-a-Bike students have all received their Master Mechanic certificates and as you can see we made graduation quite an affair. They wanted to throw their helmets in the air, but we decided we better keep those safe. We've got one more week of Bike Club rides, stayed tuned to hear how many miles we rode this semester! We Need Your Help! Did you know that even when school is out FreeWheels for Kids keeps on working? FreeWheels teaches year round but Summer is also the time for us to clean house!  This Summer we are asking volunteers to help us in these specific areas:   Bike Demolishing Party: We are lucky to have a great community that donates all the bikes we need and more for our programs. This allows us to pass along the very best to our students and community partners. However we have a few rusty frames that we need to break down and get rid of. If you have just enough skills to take apart a bike but can't put it back together this might be the opportunity for you to learn a little more.    Computer Technology: Ok, we admit it. We can teach, ride and fix bikes like none other but we need a little help when it comes to technology. We are looking into reorganizing our networking systems and would love any help in this area.   If you would like to help us out this summer, drop us a line atvolunteer@freewheelskc.org. As always FreeWheels appreciates all the help and resources it receives from our community. If you are interested in helping but not sure how your specific skills would fit in, feel free to give us a call. I promise we'll put you to work! DONATE

Ready to Ride

Gearing up to hit the road... View this email in your browser

Let the Adventures Begin!   We are almost done with Earn-A-Bike, finishing up on our own bike repairs and are so pumped to get out there and start riding together! We have two more sessions left for bike repairs and adjustments. Then we will spend a couple of session learning bike safety and rules of the road before we actually get out there and start riding. The warm weather is calling our names and we are all so excited to get out there and enjoy it. We will be riding through the kids' neighborhoods identifying areas needing improvement, and venturing out even further, taking 10-15 mile rides throughout the community, to enjoy nature, the local landscape and fresh air. I could not be more proud of how far our kids have come and all the hard work and dedication they have put into the program thus far.   --Kelly McCollum, Bike Club Coordinator We want to extend a special thanks to for donating hundreds of helmets for our students each year and     for their continued support of our programs and initiatives!  Upcoming Events: Spring is prime time for our community and family events...  FreeWheels for Kids works hard to ensure that the whole family from little sis to Mom and Dad can see cycling as a fun and healthy way to go places together. We host Saturday rides for our Bike Club kids and their families, as well as Family Build Days, where our Master Mechanics (Earn-a-Bike students) can help their family members build up a bike for themselves. If you would like to help out or join us for a ride, drop us a line at volunteer@freewheelskc.org. We would especially love to have volunteers with mechanic skills show up for the Family Build Days. Saturday, April 4, 2015  -  10:00 am- Noon Bike Club Group Ride @ Arrowhead Middle School Saturday, April 4, 2015  -  9:00 am- 3:00 pm Family Build Day @ Rosedale Development Association, 1403 Southwest Blvd. On the Horizon: Let's Get Rolling Now that the weather is nice, we are heading to M.E. Pearson Elementary to teach road safety and riding skills to our 4th and 5th grade students, during their PE class. We give special attention to those students that haven't yet mastered riding a bike and it is so rewarding when they eventually get rolling on their own! It's exciting to think that in just a couple years these students can join us for Bike Club and will be skilled and confident cyclists. DONATE

Busy Fixin' Bikes

We are getting our hands dirty... View this email in your browser

Help Our Students Get Ahead!   Adolescents who participate in bicycling, in-line skating, or skateboarding more than four times a week are 48% less likely to be overweight as adults.  We love it when our Bike Club students start commuting to school. This means that they are confident riding safely on the streets, in good physical shape, and setting a good example for other kids to be more active. Help us get more Kansas City kids on bikes and on their way to a fun and healthy lifestyle. DONATE Earn-a-Bike is Well Under Way...   We've had a great turn out this semester for Earn-a-Bike. There are 68 students who are fixing up a bike for themselves so that they can go on rides with Bike Club. We have also fixed 42 bikes for our younger friends at M.E. Pearson Elementary. This is work that really does pay off, and our students that have been with us for several semesters can attest to it:                                                               --Evan, 4th semester Bike Club student   Jersey Creek Project Update The Boy's and Girl's Club is working with a large neighborhood group to design long term plans and implement improvement to Jersey Creek which will make it a center piece for a region wide bike and ped route through KCK. --Javin Martin, Education Director

Earn-a-Bike is Here!

There's a lot going on around here...  View this email in your browser

It's Time for Earn-a-Bike!  We are very excited to get back to working on bikes with kids at our growing number of sites. We have added West Middle School to our list of program sites, as well as a new staff person, Kelly McCollum. This means we are getting more bikes to more kids each semester... Woohoo! If you would like to help us continue to expand our reach, we always need volunteers and we love donations. It's great to teach an after-school program that is based around being active. My experience teaching material that required students to sit down and follow instructions, after a full day of doing this at school, was quite challenging. It goes against the nature of being a kid. It is awesome to see kids problem solve, knowing that their work will get them somewhere, literally! I am one of the Bike Club Coordinators at FreeWheels for Kids and I joined the team last Fall. I am going to be the voice of the newsletter and social media presence for now. Nice to meet you! --Lindsey Rife, Bike Club Coordinator Meet Kelly! We welcome Kelly McCollum to our team at FreeWheels for Kids. She will be the Bike Club Coordinator at the Boy's & Girls Club and West Middle School.  Last call for volunteers! We would love for you to join us this semester, helping kids fix up bikes and going on rides. If you are interested please contact us at volunteer@freewheelskc.org. Have you checked out our new website? You should! We've consolidated all our key information into a more accessible site. There are also tons of pictures of our awesome students and volunteers. Let us know what you think! DONATE Copyright © 2015 FreeWheels for Kids, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Volunteer opportunities

Bike season is coming... learn how you can help! View this email in your browser

This week: learn how you can help! Do you want to help empower kids with bikes in Kansas City? The sun is starting to shine and the weather is warming up. It's a brand new year and FreeWheels is gearing up to ride! Looking for something fun and meaningful to do in your community? How about teaming up with Free Wheels to help deliver bike programming to local Kansas City youth. FreeWheels for Kids is looking for some volunteers to join us this year. If biking isn't your thing we have many other ways for you to get involved. We are hosting two volunteer information sessions this week at our offices: Tuesday, February 10th 6:00-8:00 p.m. 1401 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, KS 66103 Thursday, February 12th 6:00-8:00 p.m. 1401 Southwest Blvd.  Kansas City, KS 66103 Contact us to find out how you can help us empower kids with bicycles. Javin Martin Educational Coordinator javin@freewheelskc.org

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