International Walk to School Week - October 3-7

Eric Fredericks • Sunday September 11, 2005

The week of October 3-7 is International Walk to School Week, encouraging children (and parents!) to walk or bike to school. And, October 5th is International Walk to School Day. In 2004, more than 3 million children, parents, and community leaders from 36 countries around the world participated in International Walk to School Week. I cannot stress enough the importance of these events.

I helped coordinate a workshop earlier this year (in a city that shall remain nameless) that focused on an area where an estimated 600 kids per day would be crossing a busy six-lane highway. This was because a school district had stopped funding buses and there were no other options for these mostly disadvantaged children. The situation was so dangerous that even I was very nervous crossing the highway. I was so angry after the workshop because I felt deep down that someone would be killed crossing the intersection. Luckily, composure was kept during the workshop and some real strides were made that day. Perhaps there is nothing more tragic than cutting the life short of a child. >>Continue Reading This Article>>