Bike Safety Outreach
A Day of Donating Bicycle Helmets in Westborough
We had a great day in Westborough last weekend: Two fun community events, great weather and we handed out 160 free bicycle helmets to children. For this, we partnered up with the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts.
Breakstone, White & Gluck donated the bicycle helmets as part of our Project KidSafe outreach. Attorney David W. White helped distribute the free helmets at Westborough’s Spring Festival, an event featuring just about everything which is hosted by the Rotary Club of Westborough. In addition to bicycle helmets, there was an amateur dog show, children’s carnival, road race, food vendors and the list goes on.
Attorney White and Bruce Tretter, chairman of the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, then went to hand out helmets at the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central, which is nearby in Westborough.
“We had a lot of fun, though at times it was a little hectic because so many people were anxious to get helmets for their kids,” attorney David White said. He added, “Wearing a bicycle helmet is the most important step you can take to protect yourself as a cyclist and I hope the children and families left with new helmets and a new commitment to wear them every time they ride.”
Breakstone, White & Gluck donated these bike helmets through our Project KidSafe initiative. We have donated over 3,500 helmets to children in Massachusetts since 2013. By year’s end, we expect to have donated 6,000 helmets. Read more about our Project KidSafe outreach or our bicycle safety tips.
Photo: Attorney David W. White of Breakstone, White & Gluck helping a child at the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts in Westborough.
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Photo: From left in back: Bruce Tretter, Chairman of the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee; Betsy Moquin, Director of Marketing & Advancement of the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts; and Attorney David W. White of Breakstone, White & Gluck.
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Photo: Bruce Tretter, Chairman of the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, helps a child find a helmet.
Free Bike Helmets for the Children at Framingham Earth Day Festival Last Weekend
Photo left to right: Bill Hanson, chair of the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, volunteer Maura Kelly, Framingham police officers and Attorney David W. White of Breakstone, White & Gluck.
Breakstone, White & Gluck, the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the Framingham Police Department teamed up and gave away 120 bicycle helmets to children last weekend at the 5th Annual Framingham Earth Day Festival.
Breakstone, White & Gluck donated the helmets through our Project KidSafe initiative and attorney David W. White participated in the event, along with advisory committee members, including Bill Hanson, chair of the advisory committee, member Joseph Repoli, volunteer Maura Kelly and Framingham police officers.
Framingham Earth Day is held on the Framingham Centre Common and each year the event grows. It began in 2011 with 55 vendors encouraging residents to make eco-friendly choices. This year, nearly 100 vendors turned out. Breakstone, White & Gluck first participated in the festival last year.
Through our Project KidSafe initiative, Breakstone, White & Gluck has donated over 3,500 bicycle helmets to children in the Boston and Worcester areas. We expect to have donated more than 6,000 bicycle helmets by year’s end. Our goal is to encourage children to wear a bicycle helmet every time they ride.
Cyclists of all ages should wear bicycle helmets to protect themselves from a serious head injury. But bicycle helmets are especially important for children, and they are required to wear them by law in Massachusetts.
Children suffer more than half of all bicycle-related injuries and deaths which require emergency department care each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some 26,000 of these bicycle-related injuries to children and teenagers are traumatic brain injuries treated in emergency rooms.
Watch this video on how to properly fit a bicycle helmet or visit our bike safety web page.
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iCan Shine Bike Camp Teaches Bicycle Safety to Children and Teenagers with Disabilities
The iCan Shine bike camp is back in Arlington this week, teaching local children and teenagers with disabilities how to ride bicycles. iCan Shine is a national charitable nonprofit which provides cycling training for children and teenagers with autism, Down Syndrome and other disabilities. Breakstone, White & Gluck donated bicycle helmets to the camp for the second year and attorney Ronald Gluck visited with them this week.
Photo: Attorney Ronald Gluck with the volunteers at the iCan Shine bike camp in Arlington, where Breakstone, White & Gluck donated bicycle helmets to the children and teenagers with disabilities who are learning to ride a bicycle this week. A few staffers from the national iCan Shine organization travel in to teach while local volunteers organize and fund-raise for the camp. Many volunteers also attend, giving their time to guide, steer and support the riders through each lesson.
Local communities throughout the U.S. coordinate these one-week camps and the national organization sends instructors with specialized training. The Pennsylvania organization, which was founded in 2007, serves nearly 3,000 people with disabilities each year. By the end of each five-day program, 80 percent of the bicyclists who attend an iCan Shine bike program are able to ride a two-wheel bicycle independently.
Arlington resident Nina Fischer brought the iCan Shine camp to Massachusetts in 2013, so her own daughter could learn how to ride a bicycle. She continues organizing and fund-raising for it each year. Other Massachusetts camps are now offered in Scituate, Groton and Upton. The Arlington camp was held this week at Ottoson Middle School on Acton Street, with help from volunteers. Each rider requires several volunteers to help steer, guide and direct. Volunteers included students who were on school vacation, longtime cyclists who wanted to help and town board members.
Attorney Ronald Gluck visited on “Tandem Tuesday,” when the students learn to ride on a tandem bicycle, with a trained instructor guiding them on back. This allows them to build strength and become more comfortable with riding.
“Seeing the smiling faces of these new bike riders as they rode around the gym was something to behold,” Attorney Gluck said. “It was a pleasure to visit.”
Breakstone, White & Gluck will donate more than 2,500 bicycle helmets to youth in Massachusetts this year through its Project KidSafe initiative. Our goal is to help educate children and families on the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet and how to properly wear one. This is the third year of our program and by year’s end, we will have donated more than 5,000 helmets to children to help them ride safely. To learn more, visit our Project KidSafe page or our bike safety page.
Instructor from the national iCan Shine organization riding on a tandem bicycle with a student at the Arlington iCan Shine bike camp.
Breakstone, White & Gluck Donates 150 Bike Helmets for Children in Westwood
Westwood families received free bike helmets for their children and learned about cycling and pedestrian safety at Westwood Town Day on September 27th.
The Westwood Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Committee hosted an informational table at the town celebration which was held at the Westwood High School. Breakstone, White & Gluck donated 150 bike helmets which were distributed to children age 16 and younger. The helmets went quickly at the annual event, which offers a fireworks display, music, food and road races for adults and children over the course of two days. Committee members fit children for the bike helmets and explained the importance of always wearing them. Attorney David White, a Westwood resident and committee member, helped fit the helmets.
In Massachusetts, children age 16 and younger are required by law to wear bike helmets. Cyclists of all ages should wear helmets to protect themselves and reduce the risk of head and brain injuries. Many cyclists neglect to do this. In fact, less than half of all cyclists actually wear helmets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Breakstone, White & Gluck donated the helmets as part of Project KidSafe, our community service project to help prevent injuries among children. Our firm’s specialty is handling personal injury cases for those who have been injured, so we know firsthand the importance of injury prevention. We are devoted to keeping children safe. This is the second year we have donated bicycle helmets to organizations around the state. So far, we have donated over 2,000 helmets.
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Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Features Breakstone, White & Gluck’s Bike Helmet Donations
Breakstone, White & Gluck was recently mentioned in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for our bike helmet donations to children and for attorney David White’s “Volunteer of the Year” award from Boston Bikes, a program of the City of Boston.
Photo credit: LivableStreets/www.livablestreets.info. Attorney David W. White of Breakstone, White & Gluck and Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes, during the 6th Annual Boston Bike Update at Faneuil Hall.
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Breakstone, White & Gluck Makes Bike Helmet Donation to Somerville Schools
We want to share articles from the Somerville News Weekly and BostonNewsGroup.com about the CYCLE Kids program and our bike helmet donation to the Somerville elementary schools. CYCLE Kids is a Cambridge organization which provides curriculum that teaches riding skills, bike maintenance, road safety and nutrition. Locally, the curriculum is offered in Cambridge and Somerville schools as part of physical education classes.
Earlier this week, attorney Marc Breakstone attended a graduation ceremony for children finishing the curriculum at the Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School in Somerville. Breakstone, White & Gluck donated 325 helmets to Somerville schools.
“Our firm is honored to be associated with CYCLE Kids which does such an incredible job educating kids in bike safety and healthy lifestyle choices,” Breakstone said. “The energy, excitement and elation in that gym were inspiring and many people should be recognized. Our firm looks forward to continuing to support this effort for years to come.”
Attorney Marc Breakstone, Somerville Community Police Officer Marianne Manfra and Somerville Deputy Police Chief Michael Carbral with a graduate. Photo credit: The Somerville News Weekly.
Fifth-graders at Somerville’s Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School graduating from CYCLE Kids program, joined by community officials.
Participating in the event were Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Superintendent of Schools Anthony Pierantozzi, Deputy Police Chief Michael Cabral, Somerville Community Police Officer Marianne Manfra and CYCLE Kids Founder Julianne Idlet.
Breakstone, White & Gluck is donating bike helmets to cycling organizations throughout the Boston area in 2014. It is the second year we have made these donations and expect to donate 2,000 helmets by year’s end. We have donated helmets to Boston Bikes’ Roll It Forward, CYCLE Kids, the Kiwanis Club of Somerville and Worcester Earn-a-Bike along with other organizations.
It is our second year partnering with CYCLE Kids. Last year, we partnered with the organization and donated 300 helmets to fourth-graders in the CYCLE Kids program in Cambridge.
While CYCLE Kids is based in Cambridge, it is a national organization that promotes healthy lifestyles for youth and families. CYCLE Kids uses the bicycle as the vehicle to teach the importance of adopting healthy, active lifestyles. The CYCLE Kids curriculum teaches riding skills, bike maintenance, and road safety. In addition, the curriculum provides practical skills based on a child’s existing knowledge of nutrition such as portion control and how to balance a meal. The CYCLE Kids curriculum is present in 8 states, with 38 programs and reaches 3,000 children a year.
MassBike Video Answers Safety Questions for Cyclists and Drivers
MassBike recently released a new training video which answers many common questions about the laws for cyclists and drivers. The video is very well-done and offers some good re-enactments. We encourage you to watch it.
The 11-minute video is called Shifting Gears: Bicycles & Public Safety and was developed by MassBike in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Boston Police Department and Boston Police Academy. The video was developed to train police officers on how to enforce the law.
The video explains M.G.L. c. 85, § 11B and M.G.L. c. 90, § 14, the laws regarding a bicyclist’s rights on the road and the obligations of motorists. A few topics covered: where a bicyclist is allowed to ride, the illegal practice of dooring a bicyclist, and how drivers must yield to cyclists. It also touches on sidewalk riding, red lights and stop signs (cyclists have to stop too) and other areas of the law.
Breakstone, White & Gluck Supports Bike Safety Events in East Boston and East Arlington
Boston has some hard-working community bike programs which help children and their families learn the rules of safety. We recently supported two of these community groups, Boston Bikes and East Arlington Livable Streets Coalition.
Boston Bikes Bike Giveaway in East Boston. On June 12, the Boston Bikes’ Roll It Forward program gave away 40 bikes to children at the Orient Heights Boston Housing Authority Development. Children ages 5-7 were invited to sign up to receive a bike. Boston Bikes collects and repairs used bikes to distribute through its Roll It Forward program, which serves Boston residents who do not have access to a bike.
Children who participated received a new bike along with a new bike helmet. Attorney Sam Segal of Breakstone, White & Gluck helped fit the children for new helmets and spoke to them about the importance of wearing one while riding. Then, the Boston Bikes staff and volunteers taught the children safe riding techniques. Afterward, each child received a certificate showing they had completed safety training.
Attorney Sam Segal of Breakstone, White & Gluck helps fit bike helmets at a Boston Bikes event at Orient Heights Boston Housing Authority development.
Boston Bikes event at Orient Heights Boston Housing Authority development.
Boston Bikes event at Orient Heights Boston Housing Authority development.
Thompson School in East Arlington. On June 4, the East Arlington Livable Streets Coalition organized a bike safety training for 98 fourth- and-fifth graders at Thompson elementary school. A representative from MassBike spoke to the children about safe riding techniques, proper helmet fitting and bike maintenance. Phil Goff of the East Arlington Livable Streets Coalition also spoke to the children about wearing bike helmets and safety. Breakstone, White & Gluck donated bike helmets to children who showed up without one or needed one that properly fit.
East Arlington Livable Streets Coalition event at Thompson School in East Arlington.
Learn more about Boston Bikes’ Roll It Forward and East Arlington Livable Streets Coalition.
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Bike Helmet Donations in Worcester and Lexington
This spring, Breakstone, White & Gluck donated bike helmets to children in several Massachusetts communities, including Boston, Arlington, Framingham, Westborough, Worcester and Lexington. We write about two events here.
Worcester Earn-a-Bike. On May 31, attorney David White pitched in at the Worcester Earn-a-Bike’s 4th Annual Kids Bike Sale. Worcester Earn-a-Bike is a community program which teaches fun and affordable bike repair to neighborhood youth and community members. It operates a bike shop which repaired many of the bikes on sale.
At the sale, families got to purchase refurbished bikes for children for just $5! We donated helmets to children who needed one at the sale. Visit the Worcester Earn-a-Bike website to learn more about their work.
Friends of Lexington Bikeways. On May 24, we donated bike helmets to children through the Friends of Lexington Bikeways and Discovery Day in Lexington.
If you live in Lexington, you are probably familiar with the Friends, who work to preserve and maintain the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway and other shared use paths. They work closely with the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee and each winter, they clear the bikeway of snow for cyclists, cross country skiers and others.
By the way, congratulations to the Friends, the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Town of Lexington!
In May, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Lexington as a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community. The League has recognized 303 bicycle friendly communities in the U.S. Massachusetts now has seven communities on the list, including Lexington, Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, Arlington and Northampton.
Lexington’s application was coordinated by Bicycle Advisory Committee chair Peggy Enders, who also coordinated our donation to the Friends of Lexington Bikeways. Read what she told the Lexington Patch about town’s new recognition.
Visit the Friends of Lexington Bikeways’ website to learn more about their work.
Breakstone, White & Gluck Donates 100 Bike Helmets, Partners with the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Cycling safety became a fun lesson in Westborough last weekend, as 100 children learned a few basics about the road and got to take home new bike helmets.
The Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and attorney David White handed out the bike helmets on Saturday at the Westborough Spring Festival and the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts.
Breakstone, White & Gluck donated the helmets and will donate more at several other events in the Boston area this year. Our goal is to encourage bike helmet use to reduce the risk of head injury among children. This is the second year we have donated bike helmets to children and our first year working with the Westborough community.
“It was a pleasure to work with the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Westborough Rotary, and the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts,” attorney David White said. “We were able to quickly fit 125 bicycle helmets on young kids–and an occasional parent too!”
Each year, 26,000 children and adolescents sustain traumatic brain injuries related to cycling and are treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. In 2010, children and teenagers under the age of 20 accounted for about half of all 515,000 bicycle-related injuries in the U.S.
The Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee’s mission is to explore ways Westborough can become safer for pedestrians and cyclists, work to develop a rail trail along an old trolley line in town and advise the Board of Selectmen on roadway safety issues and preventing bicycle accidents. In addition, the committee is working to encourage private and community investment in bike racks and signage.
Photos: Top: Bruce Tretter and members of the Westborough Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and attorney David White of Breakstone, White & Gluck at the Westborough Spring Festival. Bottom: Attorney David White at the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts.
Visit our Bike Safety Outreach page to learn more about our bike helmet donation events.