Community member sponsors back-to-school pop-up helmet fitting station

More than 20 children won prizes, learned about riding safely and interacted with police and highway patrol officers
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The Safe Kids California San Benito Partners (Safe Kids), in association with the Council of San Benito County Governments (COG), received a generous donation from a member of the public for the purpose of promoting helmet safety among school age children in San Benito County.

Using funding from the donation, the Safe Kids Coalition and COG offered a Back-to-School Pop-up Helmet Fitting Station on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Hollister Skate Park located on Memorial Drive in from 2:30 to 4 p.m.  The pop-up helmet fitting station provided free helmets to kids who rode to the event by bicycle, scooter, or skateboard. More than 20 kids benefited from the event, winning prizes, learning about riding safely, and interacting with officers from the Hollister Police Department and California Highway Patrol.

The local donor wished to remain anonymous; her only request was to provide children in the community with a helmet at no cost. The donor said: “I was looking for a worthy cause to share my blessings, and protecting kids’ brains seemed like a no brainer."

Back-to-school can be a good time to remind kids how to cycle safely. Whether they’re going to school or the local skate park, all kids are a pedestrian at some point during the school day. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, almost 33 percent of Hollister residents are under the age of 18. With a large number of Hollister youth dependent on walking and bicycling as their primary mode of travel, sharing the road and promoting helmet safety becomes critical. California Law requires that anyone under the age of 18 must wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard or when using inline skates. 

The goal of the Safe Kids San Benito Partners is to prevent unintentional childhood injuries through the collaborative efforts of community agencies to provide education and public awareness of the leading causes of injuries. Its member agencies include: Council of San Benito County Governments, California Highway Patrol, San Benito County Department of Public Health, Hollister Police Department, City of Hollister Fire Department, Hollister Parks and Recreation Department, San Benito County Health and Human Services Department and the Hollister Youth Alliance.

San Benito COG improves the mobility of San Benito County travelers by planning for and investing in a multi-modal transportation system that is safe, economically viable, and environmentally friendly.

For more information, please follow COG on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SanBenitoCOG.

 

Council of San Benito County Governments - COG

The Council of Governments was formed in 1973 by the Cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista and the County of San Benito for the purpose of forming consensus on regional transportation issues facing San Benito County. The Council continues this coordination today by providing a public forum for discussion at its monthly meetings.