Youth Leadership Program to receive bikes through “Roll It Forward”

By Julia Golomb

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy is pleased to announce that, through the generous support of Boston's Roll It Forward bicycle initiative, all members of our Youth Leadership Team and Summer Green Team will receive their very own bicycles to keep, as well as bike safety training! The youth will be fitted with a helmet and will be required to demonstrate safe bicycle handling skills. Bikes Not Bombs, the long-time bicycle education and advocacy group, will provide hands-on demonstrations of safe, courteous cycling and proper bike fit.

Roll it Forward is a project of Mayor Menino's Boston Bikes program and the Boston Public Health Commission. Funded by a stimulus grant from the National Institutes of Health, the project seeks to make cycling a more accessible transportation option for underserved communities. By distributing bicycles and providing proper bike safety education, the Roll it Forward program promotes a healthier lifestyle of increased physical activity and fewer trips by car.

Donate your old bike(s)!
Roll it Forward aims to collect, repair, and distribute up to 1000 bikes to Boston's neighborhoods by the spring of 2012. You can help them reach their goal by donating your old bike(s)! Roll it Forward has partnered with several bicycle shops to ensure that each bike that comes out of this program is safe and ready to ride. You could get valuable discounts by donating your bike through one of the shop partners.