Rapid City, SD, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- All Kids Bike, the nonprofit under Strider Education Founation, who is equipping schools with everything needed to teach children how to ride bikes in kindergarten PE class, received a $360,000 donation from the HDR Foundation. This latest investment brings the charitable organization’s total award for the program to over $500,000 dollars in the past two school years.
The grant will fund the learn-to-ride program in 40 U.S. public elementary schools this year. The initiative empowers kindergarten physical education students with the skills and confidence to ride a bike.
The partnership aims to select Title 1 schools that face unique challenges in providing their students with resources that foster growth and development in cities where HDR employees live and work.
“HDR and All Kids Bike have a shared vision to shape communities and empower future generations,” said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation, the nonprofit that operates All Kids Bike. “This grant will have a lasting impact on nearly 30,000 students, starting this year and continuing for the next decade. We’re incredibly grateful to HDR Foundation for its support.”
It’s the second grant to All Kids Bike from the HDR Foundation. Last year, the Foundation donated $150,000 to fund the program at 25 schools in 10 states. This year’s grant is the largest given by the HDR Foundation and largest single gift received by All Kids Bike.
“The opportunity to partner with All Kids Bike aligns with the career passions and expertise of HDR employees — working each day to build safe, strong, connected and more sustainable communities,” said Kevin Mosteller, HDR southeast regional director of operations.
Nancy Hales, HDR Foundation executive director, added that this alignment reflects being part of a 100% employee-owned company. “We’re active in all the communities where we live and work,” she said. “With this grant, we’ll assemble bikes and racks, deliver them to schools and join in the announcement. Seeing the joy on those little faces when they see this gift to their school is priceless.”
Each learn-to-ride program comprises a fleet of 24 Strider bikes, pedal conversion kits, helmets, a teacher instruction bike, two rolling metal bike storage racks, curriculum aligned with national SHAPE PE standards, teacher training, and organizational support from All Kids Bike for as long as a school operates the program. It includes everything needed to teach every kindergarten student how to ride a bike for up to 10 years.
The HDR Foundation grant will bring the program to schools in the following communities during the 2023-2024 school year:
- Folsom, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Irvine, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Santa Anna, CA
- Tallahassee, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- Chicago, IL
- Boston, MA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Kansas City, MO
- Charlotte, NC
- Reno, NV
- Bend, OR
- Philadelphia, PA
- Southern California
- Minneapolis, MN
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Columbia, SC
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Columbia, SC
- Charleston, SC
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Vienna, VA
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Vancouver, WA
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About All Kids Bike
All Kids Bike launched in 2018 with a simple mission: to give every child in America the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike in school. Its Kindergarten Learn-to-Ride PE program, which is active in over 1,000 schools across all 50 states, includes everything needed to teach thousands of students at a school for 7-10 years: teacher training and certification; a fleet of 24 bikes, pedal conversion kits, and helmets; an instructional bike for the teacher; 2 rolling metal bike storage racks, and access to a resource portal and live support for the life of the program. With substantial underwriting from the Strider Education Foundation, the All Kids Bike Learn-to-Ride Kindergarten PE Program is on track to teach over one million kids to ride over the 10 year lifespan of the program. In 2023, All Kids Bike added an Inclusive Learn-to-Ride Program to empower middle and high school students and adults with developmental disabilities with the life skill of riding a bicycle. For more information, please visit www.allkidsbike.org.
About HDR
For over a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans more than 12,000 employees in more than 200 locations around the world – and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. For more information, please visit www.hdrinc.com.
About the HDR Foundation
The HDR Foundation provides grants to qualified organizations that align with HDR’s areas of expertise: education, healthy communities and environmental stewardship. Established in 2012 as an employee-funded and employee-driven foundation, we grant to organizations located in communities where HDR employees live and work. We give preference to organizations that demonstrate employee support and involvement. Since its inception, the HDR Foundation has provided over $6 million in grants to over 250 organizations. You can learn more at https://www.hdrinc.com/about-us/hdr-foundation.
