Rapid City, South Dakota, April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RAPID CITY, S.D. – April 25, 2024 – 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 $108,000 from Yamaha Motor Corp. USA’s Outdoor Access Initiative (OAI). This is the fourth grant from Yamaha, bringing its total support to more than $300,000, and will continue the partnership’s goal of activating the All Kids Bike Kindergarten Learn-to-Ride PE Program in elementary schools across the country.
“Yamaha’s lasting and generous support is elevating the educational experience for tens of thousands of kids across the country,” said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation, the 501(c) (3) nonprofit that operates All Kids Bike. “Yamaha, above all other brands in powersports, has shown again its dedication to our mission to give every child in America the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike in school.”
To date, Yamaha grants have supported All Kids Bike activations in 27 schools, teaching more than 16,000 kindergarteners over the 10-year life of the program. Most of the schools are in communities where Yamaha’s staff live and work. The list of schools benefitting from All Kids Bike’s 2023 Yamaha OAI grant includes:
· 74th St Elementary (Los Angeles, CA)
· Virginia Road Elementary (Los Angeles, CA)
· Sugar Creek Elementary (Crawfordsville, IN)
· Pleasant Hill Elementary (Crawfordsville, IN)
· Sommer Elementary (Crawfordsville, IN)
· Columbine Elementary (Longmont, CO)
· Centennial Elementary (Loveland, CO)
· White Oak Elementary (Coweta County, GA)
· Moreland Elementary (Coweta County, GA)
· Welch Elementary (Coweta County, GA)
· David Gourley Elementary (Kearns, UT)
· Cleveland Avenue Elementary (Atlanta, GA)
“Yamaha’s partnership with All Kids Bike makes it possible for thousands of kids across the country to learn how to ride a bike and create opportunities to get outside and explore the world on two wheels,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s motorsports marketing manager. “There are few things more gratifying than to be a part of kids experiencing something new, fun, and engaging, and we are excited to expand access to adventure for more kids through the All Kids Bike program.”
Each All Kids Bike Learn-to-Ride Kindergarten PE Program is comprised of a fleet of 24 Strider bikes, pedal conversion kits, helmets, a teacher instruction bike and helmet, 2 rolling metal bike storage racks, 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. With the success of Strider, McFarland expanded his vision to teach kids to ride a bike with the creation of the Strider Education Foundation and, in 2018, the introduction of All Kids Bike.
About the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative
Since 2008, the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative has led the powersports industry in supporting responsible access to our nation’s public lands for outdoor enthusiasts. With more than $6 million contributed to over 475 projects across the country, Yamaha has directly and indirectly supported thousands of miles of motorized recreation trails, maintained and rehabilitated riding and hunting areas, improved staging areas, supplied organizations with essential OHV safety education, built bridges over fish-bearing streams, helped children learn to ride bicycles, and partnered with local outdoor enthusiast communities across the country to improve access to public lands.
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 Strider bikes, pedal conversion kits, helmets, an instructional bike and helmet for the teacher, 2 rolling metal bike storage racks, and access to a resource portal and live support for the life of the program. Supported by the Strider Education Foundation, All Kids Bike Learn-to-Ride Kindergarten PE Programs are active in over 1,300 schools across all 50 states, teaching more than 100,000 kids to ride each year. 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
