Breakstone, White & Gluck Donates Bicycle Helmets for Arlington Housing Authority Residents

Volunteers holding a bike tune up event for Arlington Housing Authority residents

We want to mention the volunteers from Highrock Church in Arlington, Grace Chapel in Lexington and the East Arlington Livable Streets Alliance, which recently organized a bike safety day in partnership with the Arlington Housing Authority. Volunteers gathered in early June, tuning up 65 bikes to help residents from Menotomy Manor ride safely.

The law firm of Breakstone, White & Gluck and our Project KidSafe campaign sent along 25 helmets for children who participated.

child in Arlington wearing a bike helmet donated by Breakstone, White & Gluck's Project KidSafe campaign child in Arlington wearing a bike helmet donated by Breakstone, White & Gluck's Project KidSafe campaign Volunteers who held a bike tune up event for Arlington Housing Authority residents in June 2018 (Arlington, Mass.) Arlington volunteers at bike tune up event

 

 

Breakstone, White & Gluck Kicks Off 2018 Project KidSafe Campaign, Donates Bicycle Helmets to Children at Arlington Elementary School

Attorney Marc L. Breakstone helped deliver new bicycle helmets to Arlington fifth graders this week. He asked them to make a promise: to ride safely and always wear their helmets when riding to prevent head injuries.

“Now I’m not here to scare you. I’m here to inspire you, okay? … I want you all to be safe bicyclists,” Breakstone said.

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The bicycle helmets were a surprise gift for the 50 students at Pierce Elementary School’s bike safety training. MassBike, Massachusetts Safe Routes to School and the Arlington Police Department participated.

During his talk, Attorney Breakstone spoke to the students about the impact of concussions and his experience as a personal injury lawyer who has represented cyclists who have suffered head injuries.

“A concussion can affect you for your entire life,” he said.

Tom Francis, of MassBike, also urged students to wear their new helmets. “If it’s in your garage or hanging on the wall, your helmet is not doing any good. It has be to on your head.”

Francis covered a number of safety topics, including riding on sidewalks near pedestrians, hand signals and developing a routine.

“Be predictable when you ride your bike,” he said.

Since 2013, Breakstone, White & Gluck’s Project KidSafe campaign has donated more than 20,000 bicycle helmets to children in eastern Massachusetts. We kicked off the 6th year of our safety campaign in Arlington this week. It was our fifth year supporting Pierce Elementary School, where there are no school buses. Students walk, ride bicycles or are driven by their parents.

Through Project KidSafe, we are committed to helping children and families put on bicycle helmets. From our experience as attorneys and cyclists, we know helmets are critical to preventing concussions, traumatic brain injuries and deaths. We want to prevent injuries. For the next few months, we will be working with community partners throughout the Boston area to donate bicycle helmets and educate families about bicycle safety. Each helmet meets safety standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and will be fitted by one of our attorneys or community partners.

Read about the donation in The Arlington Advocate.

About Breakstone, White & Gluck
At Breakstone, White & Gluck, our Boston personal injury lawyers fight for justice for those who have been seriously injured or killed by the negligence and wrongdoing of others. Please visit our website to learn more about our Project KidSafe campaign and our attorneys, Marc L. Breakstone, David W. White, Ronald E. Gluck and Reza Breakstone.

Photos, left to right: Mary Alice Vallarino, parent and event organizer, Attorney Marc L. Breakstone, Tom Francis of Mass Bike, Nicole Edmonds of Massachusetts Safe Routes to School and Macon Lockery, of The Bike Stop in Arlington.

    

 

Attorney Marc Breakstone Teaches Arlington Students His Bike Safety Pledge

Attorney Marc L. Breakstone’s message to fifth graders in Arlington yesterday? Ride safe.

Breakstone, White & Gluck kicked off our 2017 Project KidSafe campaign yesterday, donating 50 helmets to Peirce Elementary School in Arlington.  Attorney Breakstone participated in a bike safety training led by Richard Fries, executive director of MassBike. Helmets were distributed to children who needed one after the training.

The training was coordinated by Mary Alice Burke, the school’s parent coordinator of Safe Routes to School programming. Nicole Edmonds, a school outreach coordinator for the Safe Routes to School office in Boston and Arlington Police Officer Corey Rateau also participated.

Launched in 2013, Breakstone, White & Gluck’s Project KidSafe campaign has donated more than 10,000 helmets to children, with a goal of preventing serious head injuries and encouraging safe riding. Under Massachusetts law, all cyclists age 16 or younger must wear bicycle helmets. But all cyclists are strongly encouraged to wear helmets, regardless of age. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets can reduce the risk of head and brain injuries in bicycle accidents by up to 88 percent, making them the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and save lives.

This is the fourth year we have donated bicycle helmets to children in the Arlington community. In Arlington, our helmets support Safe Routes to School bike and pedestrian training in elementary schools. In addition to Peirce Elementary School, we will also donate make donations to the Hardy Elementary School and the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee this year. The Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee will distribute helmets to children who need one at Arlington Town Day in the Fall.

Learn more about our Project KidSafe bike safety campaign.

About Breakstone, White & Gluck
Breakstone, White & Gluck is a Boston personal injury law firm which is committed to the safety of all bicyclists in Massachusetts. We have over 100 years combined experience representing bicyclists injured by the negligence of others. If you, or a member of your family, has been injured in a bicycle incident, please feel free to contact us for a free legal consultation at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form. Thank you and RIDE SAFE!

Breakstone, White & Gluck Makes Helmet Donations in Arlington and Watertown

arlington-elementary-schools-2016-editAs part of our Project KidSafe campaign, Breakstone, White & Gluck recently donated children’s bicycle helmets in Arlington and Watertown.

We donated 300 helmets in Arlington, where we have partnered with the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee and donated helmets for the past three years.

On September 17th, the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee distributed 70 of our Project KidSafe helmets at Arlington Town Day.

“Town Day is always a highlight of the year for us and it is great to be able to help people out with the helmets and vests,” Chairman Chris Tonkin wrote us.

The committee also coordinated our donation of 170 helmets to the Arlington Public Schools last Spring. Our Project KidSafe bicycle helmets were donated to children who needed one during Walk to School Day events for elementary school students.  In April, Breakstone, White & Gluck also made a donation to the iCan Shine Bike Camp. The camp meets during April school vacation and teaches individuals with disabilities age 8 and older how to ride a bicycle. We have partnered with the camp to make this donation for the past three years.

arlington-town-day-2016-editOn September 24th, the Watertown Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee donated 100 helmets to children at the Watertown Faire on the Square. This was the third year we have partnered with the committee.

We thank the committee members in both communities for taking time to fit the helmets and answer questions about safety.

Breakstone, White & Gluck cares about the safety of cyclists in Massachusetts and actively supports cycling safety in the Boston area. We launched our Project KidSafe campaign in 2013 to protect children. Our goal was to give children access to a safe bicycle helmet, which properly fits and help them understand the importance of wearing one every time they ride. Read more about our 2016 Project KidSafe campaign.

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Photos: Top, students in Arlington Public Schools receive new helmets during a Walk to School Day event. Middle, Chris Tonkin of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee talks about bicycle safety at Arlington Town Day in 2016. Bottom, children at the Watertown Faire on the Square give a thumbs up for our Project KidSafe bicycle helmets.

Breakstone, White & Gluck Kicks Off 2016 Project KidSafe Campaign to Promote Children’s Bicycle Safety

Breakstone, White & Gluck kicked off our 2016 Project KidSafe campaign yesterday, continuing our commitment to children’s bicycle safety. Attorney Marc Breakstone visited the iCan Shine Bike Camp in Arlington, where we donated bicycle helmets to the 25 riders.

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Attorney Marc L. Breakstone of Breakstone, White & Gluck with a cyclist and volunteer at the iCan Shine Bike Camp at the Ottoson Middle School in Arlington, Mass.

This is the third year Breakstone, White & Gluck has supported the iCan Shine Bike Camp in Arlington. iCan Shine is an international non-profit organization, with local organizers who host five-day camps which teach children and young adults with autism and other disabilities how to ride a bicycle.

Most of the cyclists take their very first ride at camp, said Nina Fischer, the local organizer.

“This camp is a dream come true for our riders and we’re so thankful to our volunteers and sponsors who help make it happen each year,” Fischer said.

Attorney Marc Breakstone said, “We are always pleased to make this donation. Breakstone, White & Gluck is committed to helping children ride their bicycles safely. Wearing a bicycle helmet is the first and most important step and the iCan Shine Bike Camp teaches this valuable lesson at every turn.”

tandem-300-2016-2.jpgThe riders (who are ages 8-25) start the week riding bicycles with specialized rollers on the back, each with help from three volunteers. Yesterday was “Tandem Tuesday.” Cyclists got to ride the tandem bicycle for the first time, sitting on the front seat, with an instructor steering from behind. Later in the week, as the cyclists gain strength, they start riding outside.

Breakstone, White & Gluck cares about children’s cycling safety. Through our Project KidSafe campaign, we have donated over 10,000 bicycle helmets to children in eastern Massachusetts since 2013.

Our goal is to keep children safe and prevent traumatic brain injuries from bicycle accidents. Cyclists of all ages can help protect themselves by wearing a helmet which properly fits, every time they ride. By wearing a helmet, cyclists reduce their chance for head injury by 50 percent, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Our Project KidSafe campaign continues with donations in South Boston, Framingham and Westborough over the next few weeks.

About Breakstone, White & Gluck
Breakstone, White & Gluck is a Boston personal injury law firm which is committed to the safety of all bicyclists in Massachusetts. We have over 100 years combined experience representing bicyclists injured by the negligence of others. If you, or a member of your family, has been injured in a bicycle incident, please feel free to contact us for a free legal consultation at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form. Thank you and RIDE SAFE!

Amazing Kids Learn Important Cycling Skills at iCan Shine Camp in Arlington

This blog is about a special bicycle camp that is being held in Arlington this week. Breakstone, White & Gluck was happy to donate bike helmets to support the iCan Shine Bike Camp, which fills a very important need and teaches children with disabilities how to ride bicycles. Please read about the camp, its organizer Nina Fischer and all the energetic and skilled instructors and volunteers.


This April school vacation was not a traditional break for two dozen children in Arlington. These children with disabilities spent their time off hard at work, learning how to ride bicycles at the iCan Shine Bike Camp at the Ottoson Middle School.

Children with disabilities do not have as many options for learning to ride and it is especially important in communities near Boston where cycling is so popular, said Nina Fischer, the camp’s organizer. Fischer tried to get her daughter who has cerebral palsy into bike camps for three years (including one as far away as New Jersey) before being approached to organize an iCan Shine Bike Camp locally. iCan Shine is a national non-profit organization which teaches children with disabilities how to ride bicycles. Each year, it hosts nearly 100 camps in 32 states.

Fischer said the children come ready to learn from professional instructors from the iCan Shine national organization. Add in supportive parents and volunteers who agree to guide the children on bikes five days in a row, and the combination all proves very successful.

“This is a skill they have for life,” Fischer said. “Most of these kids don’t have to come back.”

Breakstone, White & Gluck donated the bike helmets for the camp and attorney Marc Breakstone attended and got to meet the young cyclists. He said, “We are so pleased to give helmets to these courageous kids to help make sure that they ride safely.”

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Fischer organized the first Arlington camp last year and her daughter participated. But this year, her daughter decided she had learned enough not to come back.

“That’s what is great,” Fischer said. “Once you have it, you pretty much have it down.”
But she added, “I’m totally hooked. I can’t imagine not doing it. Someone has to do it.”

According to the national organization’s website, about 80 percent of the children can successfully ride bikes independently by the end of the five-day camp. Nationwide, about 35 percent of the participants have Down Syndrome, 35 percent are on the Autism Spectrum and the rest have other diagnosis, Fischer said.

We attended on Tandem Tuesday, when the national instructors gave each child a turn riding on the front of the tandem bike. An instructor sat on the back seat to assess the child’s steering ability and strength.

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We also got to see the children make their way around the school gym with the specialized adaptive rear wheel equipment. These wheels are developed from research by Dr. Richard Klein at the University of Illinois. They are now made by his company Rainbow Trainers, Inc.

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To help the children learn cycling, over the course of a few hours, the iCan Shine instructors change the strength of the bicycle rear tires up to 8 or 10 times. The children are not supposed to know about the change and are encouraged to get a cup of water or take a short break while the change happens.

While using these special rear wheels, children are riding bikes provided by the national iCan Shine organization. These bikes have no brakes. The children rely solely on their own steering and the volunteers to guide them.

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By mid-week, the children progress to two-wheel bikes with brakes. Later in the week, the instructors will start to work with Belmont Wheelworks and the children’s parents on ordering bikes which will best suit each child. They then take the bikes to the gym to practice with the iCan Shine instructors.

“Sometimes that transition is difficult, rocky,” said Andrea Patrick, floor supervisor for the national iCan Shine program. “That’s why we try to do it at camp, where they have learned the skills and it is a safe environment.”

About Breakstone, White & Gluck
Breakstone, White & Gluck, a Boston personal injury law firm, encourages all cyclists to wear bike helmets to reduce the risk of serious head injuries while riding.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bicyclists face a higher risk of crash-related injuries than drivers and occupants of motor vehicles. Children ages 5-14 and young adults ages 15-24 have the highest rates of non-fatal bicycle related injuries and account for 60 percent of all bike-related injuries seen in U.S. hospital emergency rooms.

In 2013, we were proud to donate over 1,000 bike helmets to children in the Boston area. We are donating more helmets this year. To learn more about our bicycle safety outreach, visit www.bwglaw.com/project-kidsafe/. We also invite you to follow our Facebook page.