In the Spring of 2009, HPAC, in partnership with Sustainable South Bronx, Urban Health Plan and Hyde Leadership Charter Academy, addressed students’ healthy lifestyle education through a pilot Bike Safety Initiative.
Fifteen students learned bicycle maintenance and exercise and nutrition for healthy living from a certified bicycling instructor and were led on group bike rides through the community to Barretto Point Park. Through a grant from the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefit Fund, students that successfully completed the program through full participation were given their bicycle.
The cycling program was particularly popular with Hyde boys, which constituted the majority of the program. On the first full bicycle outing, one 6th grade student, exclaimed on their return, “This is the best day ever!”
