Trikers raise money for St. Judes

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Daniel Dinn paused for a quick break during the Roundbarn Daycare Center's Trike-a-Thon Tuesday.

At the Round Barn Daycare Center Tuesday, pre-school students were racing around the parking lot on bikes and trikes. They spent the last week learning about bicycle safety and raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"They have already raise $200. One student alone brought in over $70 and we don't have a final count yet," said Program Director Julliette January.

As part of the Trike-a-Thon, students get coloring pages, stickers and driver's licenses. They watch a DVD about bicycle safety and learn all kinds of safety rules.

The program has been around over 20 years and helps raise funds for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. It is a special program developed for early childhood educators and childcare centers to teach children riding safety tips. Trike-a-Thons are held throughout the year.

In addition to learning how to stay safe, the children also learn about helping others through gaining sponsorships from friends and family for St. Jude.

Roundbarn Daycare is one of over 8,600 preschools and daycare centers across America participating in the Trike-a-Thon program. Their combined efforts contribute more than $7.7 million to St. Jude every year.

"This program is a wonderful way to teach bike safety, while also instilling in children the important lesson of helping others. We'll continue to participate as long as I am here," said January.

St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases. It is a place where cutting-edge research and revolutionary discoveries happen every day.

No family ever pays St. Jude for medical treatment, which is made possible through the donations it receives. Discoveries made there have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

For more information about the Trike-A-Thon program, call 800-626-BIKE (800-626-2453) or e-mail trike@stjude.org

For more pics of the trikers, click here

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: