Take the Walk + Bike Challenge to Your School!

Want to walk and bike your kids to school more?  Need a little inspiration?  Well, you're in luck.  This just in:

Oregon Walk + Bike to School has an exciting event happening in May. For the first time ever, we are extending the spirit of Walk + Bike Day into an entire month! In the style of the BTA's successful Bike Commute Challenge, all over the Portland area elementary students will be challenged to walk or bike to school as much as they can over the month of May. Once a week, a school champion will gather student scorecards and find out who's walking and biking! 

This event can be as robust or as simple as suits your school. Oregon Walk + Bike provides: posters, small incentive items, student scorecards, and tips on making your event successful.  Every student that walks or bikes at each registered school is eligible for raffle prizes. The winning school will receive a free class of the BTA's Award-Winning Bicycle Safety Education curriculum in the fall of 2008 (up to 32 students).

Is It for You?  Read about some of the common barriers for parents and ideas for overcoming them.  You may not think this is your thing, but it can be!

Jump Right In!  If you are interested in seeing Walk + Bike Challenge Month at your school or learning more about the event, contact Lillian Karabaic at the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Or just jump right in and sign your school up now!  Wonder if your school is already participating?  It's easy to find out by checking the list of participating schools.

The PSU Challenge: Not only will we find out what schools are walking and biking the most in Portland, but all the elementary schools will take on another group of students: Portland State University. For the whole month, PSU students will try to walk and bike more than all the elementary students in Portland. Who will win? Only time will tell. In June, we're throwing a party at PSU where we'll announce the schools and students that walked or biked the most, hold a drawing for prizes, have slow bike races, and have other fun events!