NC giving record number of bike helmets to children in need

RALEIGH — A record number of children, 3,320 total, across the state will be receiving lifesaving bicycle helmets through the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Bicycle Helmet Initiative, part of ongoing efforts to reduce bicycle injuries and deaths in North Carolina.

The NCDOT uses funds from the sale of the “Share the Road” specialty license plate to pay for bike helmets that are distributed at bicycle safety events for underprivileged children by government and non-government agencies. A record 101 organizations applied to participate in the program this year.

Helmets save lives. While less than half of all children typically wear a helmet while biking, they can reduce the risk of severe brain injuries by nearly 90 percent.  

This year, along with each helmet awarded, recipients will receive a pair of front and rear bike lights to further enhance cyclist safety. Helmets will be delivered by May 1.

The following organizations are receiving helmets: 

•    Albemarle Parks & Recreation

•    Alexander County Health Department

•    Allenbrook Elementary

•    Beech Mountain Police Department

•    Benson Police Department

•    Bessemer City Police Department

•    Bethel Police Department

•    Bike Durham

•    Boy Scout Pack 141

•    Boy Scout Troop 416

•    Brevard Police Department

•    Buckland Elementary 

•    Cameron Elementary

•    Carrboro, N.C.

•    Carrie on NC, Inc.

•    Carthage, N.C.

•    Chapel Hill Police Department

•    Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department

•    China Grove, N.C.

•    Clay County Sheriff’s Office

•    Currituck County Sheriff’s Office

•    Dare County Department of Health and Human Services

•    Denton Parks and Recreation Board

•    Duke Healthy Lifestyles & Bull City Fit

•    Dunn Police Department

•    Durham Bicycle Cooperative

•    Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

•    Durham Police Department

•    East Franklin Elementary

•    Forest City Police Department

•    Franklin County Cooperative Extension

•    Fuquay-Varina Police Department

•    Gaston County Parks and Recreation

•    Gastonia Parks and Recreation

•    Glendale Kenly Elementary

•    Goldsboro Parks and Recreation

•    Greater Glenwood Neighborhood Association

•    Guilford County Women, Infant and Children Program

•    Haliwa-Saponi Tribal School

•    Hendersonville Police Department

•    Intentional Love Baptist Church

•    Jackson County Department of Public Health

•    Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

•    Kill Devil Hills Police Department

•    Lansing, N.C.

•    Leland, N.C.

•    Love a Sea Turtle

•    Marbles Kids Museum

•    Marshall, N.C.

•    Mebane on the Move

•    Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation

•    Mills River Farmers Market

•    Mills River, N.C.

•    Mt. Zion Church of Deliverance

•    Murphy Police Department

•    Nashville Parks and Recreation

•    N.C. State Highway Patrol

•    Novant Health – Presbyterian Medical Center

•    Oxford, N.C.

•    Oxford Police Department

•    Partners Aligned Toward Health

•    Pedal Factory Community Bike Center

•    Pine Knoll Shores Police Department

•    Project Enlightenment Foundation

•    Randleman Police Department

•    Ray Childers Elementary

•    Rowan County Sheriff’s Department

•    Rutherfordton Fire Department and Police Department

•    Safe Communities Coalition of Pitt County

•    Safe Kids Burke County

•    Safe Kids Cabarrus

•    Safe Kids Caldwell County – County Health Department

•    Safe Kids Catawba County

•    Safe Kids Charlotte Mecklenburg

•    Safe Kids Chatham County

•    Safe Kids Cleveland County

•    Safe Kids Eastern Carolina

•    Safe Kids Northwest Piedmont

•    Safe Kids Orange County

•    Safe Kids Pitt County

•    Safe Kids Randolph County

•    Safe Kids Surry County

•    Safe Kids Union County

•    Safe Kids Western Carolina

•    Safe Kids Wilkes County

•    Salisbury Parks and Recreation

•    Sampson County Schools

•    Sanford Police Department

•    Selma Tabernacle Church of God

•    Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority

•    Siler City Elementary

•    Smithfield Police Department

•    Southport, N.C.

•    Spindale Fire Department

•    Surf City Police Department

•    The Happy Tooth Foundation

•    UNC Hospitals Pediatric Trauma Program

•    Vass, N.C.

•    Winston Salem Police Department Bike Patrol

•    WalkBikeNC

•    Womack Army Medical Center 

Residents dedicated to bicycle safety in North Carolina have supported this initiative since it began in 2007. Since then, thousands of bicycle helmets have been distributed to children.

For more information about the program, visit the NCDOT Bicycle Helmet Initiative webpage.