The Wheeled Safety Program provides free, high quality bicycle helmets to children under the age of 14. Each Spring, the department conducts the Lawrence Helmet Fair which provides information for all types of summer activities, along with free helmets.
The Wheeled Safety Program started in May of 1996 with a grant of $300.00 from the Children’s Miracle Network. We turned the $300.00 dollars into 90 helmets. The helmets were put on the medic units and given out to children who were participating in wheeled sports without a helmet. Those first 90 helmets were gone within six weeks. Laird Noller Automotive stepped forward and pledged $ 10.00 for every new vehicle they sold during the summer months. This money allowed us to purchase several hundred helmets. Since May of 1996 we have provide over 9,000 helmets to the children of Douglas County.
Since then the following agencies have followed suit and became sponsors of this great program.
- City of Larwence
- Dillons
- Douglas County Medical Society
- Douglas County SAFEKIDS
- Kansas Athletics
- Laird Noller
- Lawrence Mountain Bike Club
- McDonald’s
- Pilot Club of Lawrence, Inc.
- Ranjbar Orthodontics
- State Farm Insurance (local agents)
Laird Noller Automotive continues their generous support for this program. Without Laird Noller Automotive, this program would not have been able to grow into what it has today.
This program has continued to grow through out the years. We provided nearly 700 helmets annually, through distribution at the annual helmet fair, parents bringing their children into one of our stations and various other programs.
Why do we need to have a helmet program?
Click here for brochure (PDF, 1.3 MB)