May 7th, 2009 by

adam

Trips for Kids Israel and Northern Virginia Chapters Achieve Heightened Cultural Understanding During One-Day Event in Washington, D.C.

San Rafael, Calif. and Springfield, Va. - May 7, 2009 - Eleven young riders from the Trips for Kids Israel and Northern Virginia chapters met on Monday, May 4 in Washington D.C. to participate in bike and cultural education workshops and a presentation about how embracing diversity helps to achieve success in life.

Though the joint bike ride initially planned for the event was canceled due to rain, the kids benefited greatly from their time together. Translators facilitated introductions between the two groups before they competed in a hand-off relay that fostered collaboration. The group then participated in a joint presentation about diversity in bike riding, a discussion comparing two mountain bikes and a hands-on discussion about bike maintenance. Each rider received a book about safe bicycling and tire levers donated by REI.

According to the local Trips for Kids leader Julie Childers, the Israel and Northern Virginia riders’ excitement about their cross-cultural passion for mountain biking made them eager to plan a meeting in Israel. “They started with a love of bikes in common, and they all learned a great deal, made some new friends and exchanged emails,” she confirmed.

The Trips for Kids Israel trip was underwritten by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s “Partnership 2000,” a program dedicated to creating relationships between Israeli and North American Jewish communities on an individual, organizational and community level.

About Trips for Kids
Trips for Kids (www.tripsforkids.org) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization based in Marin County, California. With 60-plus chapters operating in the United States, Canada and Israel, Trips for Kids opens the world of cycling to at-risk youth through mountain bike rides and Earn-A-Bike programs. Trips for Kids started in 1988 as a grass roots effort by avid mountain biker, environmentalist and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee Marilyn Price to provide inner-city youth a way to enjoy the outdoors and gain much-needed life skills.

Fueled by success in the San Francisco Bay Area, the national organization was launched in 1999 with the expanded mission to open as many chapters as possible in order to provide kids with lessons in personal responsibility, achievement and environmental awareness through the development of practical skills and the simple act of having fun through mountain biking.

source: Maura Lansford

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