BHES Launches Walk or Bike to School Week

Bedford Hills Elementary School will hold "Walk/Bike To & From School Week" from April 19 to April 22. The event will be held rain or shine to encourage students (and parents and teachers) to walk to and from school.

Parents, teachers, and community leaders, will also be walking to school that week. Town Supervisor Lee Roberts, Police Chief Edward Collins, Bedford Central School District's Superintendent Dr. Jere Hochman, Bedford Town Justice Erik Jacobsen, and BHES Principal C. Zbynek Gold are expected to take part.

The event is being organized by the Safe Routes to School Committee, which includes representatives from BHES, the Bedford Hills Elementary School Association (BHESA), the BHES Wellness Committee, Neighbor's Link, the Bedford Hills Neighborhood Association (BHNA), the Town of Bedford Police Department, and the Town of Bedford.

Each day at 8:15 a.m., people will walk to BHES from various locations, including Bedford Mews at 208 Harris Road, the Bedford Hills Community House, and Bedford Hills Memorial Park. Parents are encouraged to walk with their children to school. Other special activities associated with the walk include giveaways, a daily walker tally, and a "sign/banner making" event. On Tuesday, April 20, the event will focus on bicycle awareness and safety, with Terry Burke of the Westchester Cycle Club and Chairman of the Bedford Bike Committee giving simple bicycle inspections. On Wednesday, April 21, Shoprite will be handing out bottles of water and fruit at the school to the kids who walked. And on Earth day, April 22, the walkers will pick up trash along their routes. 

Why walk to school?

Lack of physical activity is a major cause of chronic illness and death in the United States, including diabetes. Physically inactive kids are more likely to grow up to be physically inactive adults – and are therefore at high risk for obesity and related illnesses. Walking to school is a missed opportunity. Roughly 10 percent of children nationwide walk to school regularly. Even among those kids living within a mile of their school, only 25 percent are regular walkers. Walking or cycling to and from school is an ideal way to get some of that activity at no extra cost to the child or family.

For more information on the event, please call (914) 241-2953.