May 08, 2007

Genesis Donates Helmets For Bike Safety Event

DAVENPORT, Iowa – The 276 students at Buffalo Elementary School, Buffalo, Iowa, will start their summer vacations with a new bike helmet and information to keep them safe on their bikes.

Thanks to the Quad Cities Safe Kids program and a donation from Genesis Health System, the students at Buffalo Elementary will participate in the “All Heads Covered’’ program to promote bicycle safety on Friday, May 18.

Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus in Silvis is the lead sponsor of Quad Cities Safe Kids.

Every child in Buffalo Elementary School will receive a bike helmet.  There will also be a safety presentation and video. The event starts at 8:30 a.m.

Keene Hart, director of Quad City Safe Kids, said the idea of the “All Heads Covered’’ program is to promote bicycle safety and prevent injuries.

“Thanks to the generous support of sponsors in the past, and again this year with the support of Genesis, we’re in our 10th year of this program and have given away more than 10,000 helmets,’’ Hart said.  “Not only is it an excellent safety program, it’s just a lot of fun to give out the helmets and see the fun the kids are having.’’

Each year, more than 500,000 people in the United States are treated in emergency departments, and more than 700 people die as a result of bicycle-related injuries.  Children are at particularly high risk for bicycle-related injuries, accounting for more than half of all bicycle-related injuries seen in United States emergency departments.
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