Kiwanis show support for bike safety education in Swift Current
The Kiwanis Club of Swift Current continues to support bike safety education in the community with a donation for an annual bike safety event and club members volunteering on the day of the activity.
The City of Swift Current is hosting the annual bike safety event in partnership with the Kiwanis Club and the Saskatchewan Health Authority at Riverdene Park from 4-7 p.m. on May 15.
This free event will feature helmet and bike inspections, safety awareness and fun cycling activities. Participants will be able to practice their bike safety skills on the bike safety course and cycle along the Chinook Parkway to the nearby Kiwanis Bike Park. There will be various prizes as well as free hot dogs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The Kiwanis Club of Swift Current made a donation of $500 towards the 2024 bike safety event. Dave Spencer, a member of the club’s youth services committee, presented the cheque on behalf of the non-profit organization to the City’s In Motion Community Facilitator Val Choo-foo at the Kiwanis Bike Park, April 24.
“Our main interest as Kiwanians is to support youth in our community and area, and so we look for opportunities
to do that,” Spencer said. “We’re really fortunate to have organizations like the City of Swift Current that are willing to put on something like bike safety or a variety of initiatives that support youth. It allows us as Kiwanians to address our interest by joining with organizations like the City in both financially offering financial support, but also offering volunteer support.”
He added that the club is always interested in supporting bike safety. The Kiwanis Bike Park was completed two years ago as a partnership project between the Kiwanis Club of Swift Current and the City of Swift Current to celebrate the club’s 100th year.
The bike park, located next to the Chinook Parkway along 13th Avenue Northeast, is designed in the shape of a bicycle. Cyclists can navigate wheel-shaped paths to practice their cycling behaviour while following the rules of the road.
“Families will come out and practice, but the City is really helpful in terms of organizing youth to take advantage of this opportunity and supporting them as they ride the bike course,” he said.
Choo-foo expressed gratitude towards the local Kiwanis Club for their ongoing support for the annual bike safety event.
“We are so appreciative of all the support we have received over the years for the bike safety event, but many other programs that the City does too, from the Swift Current Kiwanis club,” she said. “The financial support obviously is very important, but also having volunteers. It is so nice to have a variety of volunteers at the bike safety event. The Kiwanians are right out there and helping out in whatever way they can.”
The donation from the Swift Current Kiwanis will help to cover various costs associated with the hosting of the event, including prizes and to help pay for the barbecue and the food.
She mentioned that Riverdene Park is an ideal location for the bike safety event due to its proximity to the Kiwanis Bike Park.
“It’s nice, because the families or the kids can bike underneath the bridge and come practice at the course,” she said.
Riverdene Park is one of five parks in the city where a bike safety course has been painted on the surface of the outdoor rink to allow cyclists to have fun while practising their cycling and safety skills.
The other bike safety courses are located at the outdoor rinks in ACT Park, Highland Park, Westside Park and the southside outdoor rink next to site of the former St Joseph School.
Some of the funding from the Kiwanis as well as SGI grant funding are used each year to get a bike safety course at one of the outdoor rinks freshly painted. The course at Riverdene Park was repainted last year and the one at the southside outdoor rink will get a new coat of paint this year.
“We’re really looking forward to May 15,” Choo-foo said about the bike safety event. “We’re excited to have the community come and support. Thanks again to Swift Current Kiwanis Club and many of our other partners that come and help out too.”