Street Smarts: final push to $50,000!
We’re nearing the end of our Street Smarts campaign to raise $50,000 for safer streets and better bike education! From free workshops at local library branches to Ride the City tours to help riders gain skills cycling on city streets, we’ve heard that our education and outreach programs are people’s first positive touchpoint with cycling in Toronto.
A huge thank you to every generous donor who has contributed so far - thanks to you, we’re nearly halfway to our goal. But we know we can do more.
Please donate now so that we can offer essential cycling education to even more Torontonians in 2018 - you’ll even receive a charitable receipt thanks to our partnership with CultureLink.
You’ll be taken to CultureLink’s Canada Helps page. Select Fund 2 - Cycling Education Program from the dropdown menu to ensure your donation goes directly to our cycling education programs.
To give you a sense of the impact you can make by contributing to Street Smarts, here’s a snapshot of the stories we’ve shared from staff and Board members, volunteers, and program participants.
From our Executive Director, Jared Kolb:
“When I learned to drive in Kitchener, my drivers ed class didn’t even touch on bike lanes, or how to share space with people on bikes. When I decided to ride my bike across Canada, I didn’t take a class - I just suited up and got it done. Many people choosing to ride as adults in Toronto haven’t been on a bike since they were a kid. No wonder there are so many conflicts at intersections! In many cases, this mutual ignorance - drivers and cyclists lacking a good understanding of the rules of the road - sets the stage for tempers to flare. As we roll out new forms of higher quality bike lanes, there also needs to be investments in people, so they know how to interact with these new facilities.”
President of the Board, Brandin O’Connor shared some of his highlights from 2017:
“It’s thanks to support from you, our volunteers, and our tireless staff team that we saw so many thrilling victories this year. We gave out thousands of copies of the Cyclists Handbook to educate cyclists; we provided free lights in our Get Lit blitz, making nighttime cycling safer for thousands; and there was that recent little thing with the Bloor bike lanes being made permanent, after decades of advocacy work.”
Dedicated volunteer Eva spoke to the power of a pair of bike lights:
"I love volunteering with Cycle Toronto but I have to say that the annual Get Lit campaign is my favorite. People are just so happy when you pass them a set of lights! And I can definitely relate: it's a terrible feeling to be far from home and realize that the earlier sunset has caught you off guard, or you forgot your lights at home, or someone stole your lights off your bike. I want the streets of Toronto to be safer for everyone and giving out lights is one small way to make an immediate difference."
For high school students like Taysir (pictured in this recent news article), our Safe Cycling workshop was instrumental in his ability to cycle with confidence:
"The Safe Cycling 101 Workshop really gave me important knowledge about riding a bike safely in Scarborough. The presenter taught me the rules of the road and what I must know in order to be safe when I am riding in traffic. After taking this workshop I now bike with confidence."
We want to share even more stories of these transformative moments in 2018. That’s why we’re asking you to help us make a final push to get to $50,000 for Street Smarts in the new year.
Whether you’re able to give $25 or $500, we guarantee your contribution will make a direct impact on Torontonians and contribute to a better cycling city for all.
Thank you from all of us at Cycle Toronto! Stay warm and ride on.