OK this is too exciting. I have to squeeze one more post in! I just told you about the Put A Lid On It Program, and it has expanded. The Griffins are going to give bike helmets away at various libraries; and I’m just going to cut and paste their press release in the interest of time.
A.P. has a friend over, and in the course of half an hour they have 1) located the shovel and put dirt all over the slide 2) peed in the yard and 3) removed almost all of their clothes. Meanwhile, the neighbor boy wandered down the street, would not come back with me, so I had to run over and alert his grandma to have her go get him.
I have to keep an eye on these boys.
I know a lot of you love the Grand Cycling Classic (the one that used to be the Priority Health Classic, then changed sponsors and dates) – I am still waiting for online registration to open up because it’s in July this year. I have a link on my Active Kids page. Enjoy!
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – One hundred local children will receive a new bike helmet at no cost when the Grand Rapids Griffins and Safe Kids Greater Grand Rapids host the third annual “Lids at the Library.”
The event will take place on two separate days at branches of the Grand Rapids Public Library and the Kent District Library. KDL’s Wyoming Branch (3350 Michael Ave. SW) will be the site on Tuesday, June 15 at 1 p.m., while GRPL’s West Side Branch (713 Bridge St. NW) will host the event on Thursday, June 17 at 1 p.m.
Volunteers from Safe Kids and the Griffins will be on hand to properly fit these free helmets for the first 50 kids at each location. Helmets for kids ages 1-12 will be distributed (subject to availability), and a parent or legal guardian must be present for a child to receive a helmet. A Griffins mascot will entertain patrons and a variety of information from the Griffins and Safe Kids will be available for pickup.
“Lids at the Library” represents the start of the seventh summer of the Griffins’ award-winning “Put A Lid On It!” (PALOI) helmet safety program, which is presented by Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Since the program’s founding in 2004, the Griffins have worked with dozens of local organizations – including Safe Kids, police departments, pediatricians, schools, libraries, bike shops and sporting goods stores – to encourage helmet usage during wheeled sports, prevent head injuries, and reward kids who wear their helmets.
PALOI, which earned the Brain Injury Association of Michigan’s 2007 prevention award, targets elementary and middle school students in a seven-county region of West Michigan. Children age 17 or younger who visit griffinshockey.com with parental permission and sign a pledge to always wear their helmet will be rewarded with a voucher for two free tickets to a 2010-11 Griffins game, and they’ll be registered for a drawing to win a new bike.
Ever-present at local bike races throughout the summer, PALOI will co-sponsor the kids race at the Grand Cycling Classic for the second straight year, providing helmets to the first 150 kids who register for the July 10 event.
Information for parents, including tips for choosing a helmet and getting children to wear it, is available at griffinshockey.com. For more information about the program, call (616) 774-4585 ext. 3046.
The “Put A Lid On It!” program is supported by Centennial Securities, Comcast, Dean Foods and Delta Subaru.
2010 PALOI Event Schedule
June 15 – Lids at the Library – KDL Wyoming Branch (1 p.m.)*
June 17 – Lids at the Library – GRPL West Side Branch (1 p.m.)*
June 18 – Bike Rodeo at Glen Valley Dentistry in Caledonia (10 a.m.-1 p.m.)
June 19 – Bike Rodeo at Walker Ice Arena (8:30-11 a.m.)
July 3 – Kentwood Fourth of July Parade (9:30 a.m.)
July 4 – East Grand Rapids Fourth of July Parade
July 10 – Grand Cycling Classic*
Aug. 3 – National Night Out
Aug. 7 – U.S. Coast Guard Festival Grand Parade in Grand Haven (11:45 a.m.)
Aug. 7 – Ada Criterium
Aug. 22 – Gaslight Criterium in East Grand Rapids
All events subject to change
* Helmet distribution event
PALOI By the Numbers
10 – West Michigan police and sheriff’s departments that participate in our ticket voucher reward program.
18 – Michigan counties with kids who’ve made a helmet pledge.
60 – Michigan cities with kids who’ve made a helmet pledge.
1,649 – Different kids who’ve made a helmet pledge through griffinshockey.com since 2004, including many who’ve done so on an annual basis.
9,500 – Free Griffins tickets awarded to kids through the voucher reward program since 2004.
$15,000 – Grants provided by the Griffins to local Safe Kids organizations for the purchase of more than 1,500 helmets that have been distributed free to needy kids since 2004.
Big Binder 