GROUP MEMBERS:

Sarah Carlson
Jason Cressey
Megan Crumpacker
Rei Onishi
Kelsey Romstad
Esther Skelton

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

On December 2nd, we presented a bicycle safety and awareness workshop at the Boys and Girls Club of Whatcom County for our social change project. Our initial project concept stemmed from observations of college students continually failing to demonstrate proper bicycle safety practices. This prompted our inspiration to educate Bellingham youth on the importance of these practices, through partnerships within the local community.

This effort can be socially justified on the basis of current statistics. Research indicates that 85% of all head or brain injuries could be avoided if cyclists wore bicycle helmets, and 90% of all accidental deaths to children on bicycles occur when they dart into traffic from a driveway or when they cycle through a stop sign. To prevent these accidents, our goal was to educate as many children as possible about the importance of bicycle safety. The objective is to instill these ideals at a younger age, resulting in the application of this knowledge throughout adulthood. This objective was met without violation of any ethical frameworks discussed throughout the course, indicating our solution as an ethical alternative to promoting bicycle safety.

To achieve our goal, community involvement was critical and obtained through a variety of methods. We began our involvement with the Boys and Girls Club though volunteering for their annual “Make a Difference Day” event in October. This event entailed the awarding of free bicycles to all children who attended, in conjunction with participation in a bike rodeo, sponsored by Smart Trips. The volunteer experience created a partnership with Ellen Barton of Smart Trips, who provided standardized information for use in our workshop. Corporate involvement was attempted through an application for a $300 grant from Target. These funds were intended to purchase bicycle safety gear. Shortly after our submission letter, we received approval for grant money, although the value was decreased to a $50 contribution. This increased our need for additional support, which led us to seek contributions from local bicycle shops. The Fairhaven Bike and Mountain Shop agreed to the authorization of a 20% coupon discount all bicycle helmets (designed by group members), and Jack’s bicycle Center offered a variety of safety accessories and reflectors for donation.

On the day of our workshop, thirteen community youth members attended (ages ranging from 5 to 12 years old). Brief safety quizzes were issued before and after the workshop, to assess the level of knowledge gained. The workshop detailed basic information on safe riding practices, bicycle maintenance, proper helmet-fit guidelines, and activity handouts. Information was presented through the use of colorful posters, safety signs, as well as bicycle and helmet demonstrations. Children participated in the activities and demonstrations through worksheets, discussions, and hand signaling. Participation was encouraged by awarding safety gear, candy, and fun bicycle accessories.

Overall, the “Helmet Hair” bicycle workshop proved to be a success. Community involvement was obtained from five organizations of varying structure: corporation, non-profit, for-profit, and locally owned. The information presented was both accurate and standardized, being obtained from credible sources. Resources were distributed to the youth through participation in a fun and interactive environment. Quantitatively, knowledge was increased by a 25%, showing that we exceeded our set objective. Although future improvements could be made, given our available time and resources, “Helmet Hair” was a success.