RAPID CITY, S.D., May 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- All Kids Bike, the nonprofit organization equipping schools with everything needed to teach children how to ride a bike, today announced that it was awarded a grant of $100,000 from Yamaha Motor Corp. USA’s Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI). The grant is Yamaha’s largest OAI contribution to any single organization. The funds will be used to activate the All Kids Bike Kindergarten Learn-to-Ride PE Program in elementary schools across the country.
“This gift from Yamaha’s Outdoor Access Initiative makes it the leading powersports brand supporting All Kids Bike,” said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation, the 501(c) (3) nonprofit that operates All Kids Bike. “We are grateful for this partnership, now entering its third year, which is helping us to achieve our mission to give every child in America the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike in school.”
In 2021, the Yamaha OAI awarded All Kids Bike a grant of $30,000 and the two organizations worked together to launch Kindergarten Learn-to-Ride PE Programs in six elementary schools in three cities where Yamaha Motor Corp. USA employees are based: Cypress, Calif., and Newnan and Marietta, Ga.
Based on the success of the first award, a second grant of $60,000 in 2022 extended the reach of the partnership with programs activated in a variety of additional communities including: Atlanta, Ga., Denver, Co., Charlotte, N.C., Crawfordsville, Ind., Waverly, Tenn., and Prather, Calif.
“Yamaha’s support of All Kids Bike will get thousands of kids across the country outside, on bikes, and experiencing two-wheel adventures,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s motorsports marketing manager. “We’ve experienced the need and impact firsthand over the last two years when we’ve delivered the bikes and seen the kids and teachers light up. Today, we are looking to significantly increase the reach of this program, and together, create meaningful opportunities for children to engage in outdoor recreation.”
Each All Kids Bike Kindergarten Learn-to-Ride PE Program is comprised of a fleet of 24 Strider bikes, pedal conversion kits, helmets, a teacher instruction bike, SHAPE-standard curriculum, 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 incoming kindergarten student how to ride a bike for a decade or longer.
Yamaha and Strider Bikes share a long connection; Strider founder Ryan McFarland is a lifelong fan of the brand, and he designed his first-ever prototype Strider balance bike in the likeness of a Yamaha-blue dirt bike, complete with Yamaha stickers and a #1 racing plate. His design became a successful and revolutionary product and in 2018, Strider’s Education Foundation created All Kids Bike.
About All Kids Bike
The All Kids Bike Learn-to-Ride Kindergarten PE Program launched in 2018 with a simple mission: to give every child in America the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike in school. The program 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, 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. Substantially underwritten by the Strider Education Foundation, All Kids Bike Learn-to-Ride Kindergarten PE Programs are active in over 900 schools across all 50 states, teaching more than 100,000 kids to ride each year. For more information, please visit www.allkidsbike.org.
Media Contact:
Lauren Tadlock, Media Coordinator All Kids Bike
lauren@allkidsbike.org
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eb497dbf-3418-47e1-8899-abb9f9fe4b9b
