Do you see local kids riding their bikes and scooters without a helmet? Maybe they don’t understand the protection a helmet provides. Maybe riding without a helmet is the norm among their friends. Or maybe they can’t afford a helmet.
Whatever the reason, the Texas Medical Association’s Hard Hats for Little Heads bike helmet giveaway provides an easy way to help you put helmets on kids’ heads.
Family physicians can receive up to 50 helmets at no cost, thanks to support from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. Members of the Texas Pediatric Society and Texas College of Emergency Physicians receive the same perk. Each of these organizations purchases up to 25 helmets, and TMA matches that amount.
Other physicians, medical students, and TMA Alliance members can receive free helmets from TMA to match what they purchase. Purchases up to 50 receive an equal match from TMA. Helmets cost $9.35 each, including shipping. TMA has other tools to ensure a successful giveaway, including educational handouts in English and Spanish, event signage, and promotional flyers.
“Interacting with the kids, fitting them with helmets, and teaching kids and parents about safety and accident prevention was a rewarding experience,” said Nacogdoches pediatrician Modupe Sokunbi, MD. She and other local physicians have given out helmets at community events during the past several years.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TMA encourages safe giveaways based on your community’s circumstances. Here are some easy ways to give helmets – or get creative and come up with your own idea:
- Well-checks. Pediatricians and family physicians have embraced talking about safety with their young patients and backing up their message by providing a helmet.
- Holiday gift/bike giveaways. Join with a local holiday event later this year to ensure a helmet accompanies each bike given.
- Preschool or school giveaways. Work with a school nurse, PTA, or physical education teacher to select a grade or group of kids who need a helmet. Or if a school gives bikes as a reward for achievement, pair a helmet with each bike.
- Community groups. Select a youth organization or church that works with kids to provide helmets. Or give a supply of helmets to the local police department to distribute if police officer see kids riding their bikes without a helmet.
- Urgent care facilities or emergency departments. Keep a supply of helmets on hand for kids who come in for a bicycle-related accident and need a new helmet.
- Health and safety fairs and other church/fall/community festivals. Booths often are available for a helmet giveaway.
For more information, check out the Hard Hats event toolkit. To request an order packet, email Tammy Wishard, Hard Hats coordinator, or call her at (512) 370-1470.
Hard Hats for Little Heads is supported in 2021 with a grant from the TMA Foundation with major support from an anonymous TMA/TMA Alliance member donor couple.
Last Updated On
September 13, 2021
Originally Published On
September 13, 2021
Tammy Wishard
Account Manager, Division of Communications and Marketing
(512) 370-1470