Outride Cycling Education Training & Annual Summit Empower Communities and Educators for Youth Cycling Initiatives
MORGAN HILL, Calif. (PRWEB) August 04, 2023 -- For the first time since 2019, Outride’s Riding for FocusTraining brought together over 70 teachers, non-profit professionals, and school administrators to Specialized Headquarters.
Led by outgoing Riding for Focus Program Manager Lauren Freeman, the training event equipped attendees with the essential skills and knowledge to teach middle schoolers around the country how to safely and confidently ride bikes. Teachers had the opportunity to network with fellow educators, many of whom serve low-income and underrepresented communities, and some even jumped on a bike for the first time in years.
The training was a pivotal moment for these Champions, as they will be rolling out the Riding for Focus cycling education program in 55 new schools and communities in the coming year. The program has now expanded to nearly 300 schools throughout the US and Canada, positively impacting over 50,000 students on an annual basis. The event also marked the transition of program leadership from Lauren Freeman to Outride teammate Chazz Robinson, who will now be heading both the Outride Fund and Riding for Focus.
"We are immensely appreciative of Lauren's time with Outride, and we wish them the best moving forward," expressed the team.
The training event culminated in the annual Outride Summit on July 27th, witnessing an enthusiastic gathering of over 300 attendees either in person or through virtual platforms. The event focused on exploring cycling's potential in supporting social, emotional, and cognitive well-being, emphasizing the essential components necessary for reaping such benefits.
Esteemed speakers from around the world shared their insights on the transformative power of cycling to enhance mental and social health. Attendees were exposed to inspiring cycling programs from various regions, including Australia's thoughtful physical activity programming, Europe's trail therapy mountain biking initiatives, and school-based and extracurricular programs in the United States.
Esther Walker, Outride's Senior Research Manager, expressed, "Through exposure to innovative programming happening across the country and across the world, we hope attendees walked away with some new ideas of how the bike can be used to support the health and wellbeing of their own communities."
"Our hope with the annual Outride Summit is to provide attendees with actionable, evidence-based, takeaways they can bring back to their communities," said Walker.
Videos from the 2023 Outride Summit can be found here.
The Outride Summit and Riding for Focus Champion Training exemplify Outride's dedication to fostering cycling initiatives that positively impact the social, emotional, and cognitive health of individuals and communities.
About Outride
Outride is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering communities' cognitive, socio-emotional, and mental well-being through research, school-based cycling programs, and community grants. At Outride, we believe in the power of cycling to transform lives. We envision a world where billions of people use cycling to improve the well-being of their communities.
Outride has a direct focus on expanding opportunities to access the benefits of cycling, partnering with programs that intentionally work to provide the social, emotional, and cognitive health benefits of cycling to underrepresented demographic groups.
Learn more at outridebike.org
Tasha Tinagero, Outride, http://outridebike.org, 1 4156106525, [email protected]
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