Spiff Up That Bike Helmet And Put It On

Wearing a bike helmet is a very cool thing to do.

This message is the basis of an upcoming children’s event that promotes the use of bike helmets and provides an artistic opportunity for kids.

Paint-a-Helmet Day is Sunday and March 1, organized by Lee Wynne and Dan St. John of the Kiwanis Clubs of Spokane.

Kids in grades 1 through 8 are invited to Franklin Park Mall to paint a bike helmet in the coolest designs possible. The organizers hope that if children make ‘em, they’ll be more likely to wear ‘em.

Helmets can protect kids from potential bike, skateboard and roller-skating injuries. Doctors and parents emphatically agree: Helmets make a difference.

“Every 14 seconds someone hurts their head in this country,” said St. John. “Bike helmets work, but it’s tough to get kids to believe it.”

A father himself, St. John said it is easier to instill a sense of responsibility in a child if the behavior also happens to be acceptable by his or her peer group.

“Kids respond more to what is cool,” said St. John, “so we’re trying to do this because it’s cool. If they think it’s cool enough, they’ll keep wearing them.”

During Paint-a-Helmet Day, youngsters can show up at the mall anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. They fill out a short entry form, pay $10 and are given a certified safety bike helmet.

They are then guided to tables loaded with specially selected, non-toxic paints to begin creating their helmet masterpieces.

Sunday marks the third Paint-a-Helmet Day, and organizers will continue holding the event until they have reached their goal of 1,000 helmets purchased and painted by kids. When that happens, Kiwanis will also have enough money to buy eight bikes to offer as prizes. A new bike will be awarded to the best-designed helmet in each grade level.

Wynne conceived of the paint-a-helmet idea when he saw a young man wearing a bright bike helmet at a city intersection.

“Wouldn’t it be great to promote bike helmets kids would be so proud of they wouldn’t want to take them off?” Wynne remembers thinking.

St. John said the response to the helmet-painting event has been so favorable that Kiwanis Clubs in other cities may sponsor similar projects.

To assist the Spokane-area Kiwanis, an impressive list of local businesses and organizations have teamed up as sponsors: Spokane Police TEAM, Brain Injury Association, Spokane Real Estate Agents, Spokane School District 81, Spokane Transit, The Ridpath Hotel, Little Caesars Pizza, TMI Cruises and Tours, KISS-FM, Snyder’s, Inland Automobile Association, Camp Fire, Albertsons, and Bumpers Fun Center.

Some of the decorated helmets are on display at Franklin Park Mall to inspire other children. But most helmets are hopefully where they should be: looking cool on little heads while helping to prevent injuries.

, DataTimes MEMO: The Family Track is a weekly column of notes and information for families. Send items to Lynn Gibson, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615, or fax (509) 459-5098.