This past Wednesday, April 13th, was another awesome day for the students of New Los Angeles Charter Middle School in Mid-City Los Angeles. For the second year in a row, the students there were treated to a free bike clinic or “bike workshop”, as well as a panel on bike safety, and even some freshly screen-printed t-shirts, all from members of the local Mid-City community.
The night kicked off with some words from Eileen Schaubert, an active tournament bike-rider from Texas, who shared some bike history and safety tips with the students.
Following Schaubert, John Jones III of the Eastside Riders Bike Club took to the stage to tell the students of his incredible work in bike advocacy, which took him from East Los Angeles all the way to the White House!
To round off the panel, Yolanda Davis-Overstreet provided some updates regarding a successful effort to install a crosswalk and stop-light at the corner of Washington and Burnside, where New L.A. is located. The crosswalk is crucial for the safety of students crossing the street on their way to and from school.
After the speakers, the students enjoyed some pizza for the night, along with a raffle that kept them on their toes! Prizes for the raffle included t-shirts, bike helmets, bike lights, and even two skate decks, all of which was provided in no particular order by the Xtreme Skateboard Shop, Unity Sports Cycling, Crenshaw Walks, Los Angeles Walks, and the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition.
Yolanda Davis-Overstreet –a bicycling and pedestrian community advocate– once again served as the main organizer of the event, along with the awesome support, organization and donations of parent Denean Russell! The event also featured brief ‘addresses’ of the students and contributions from more volunteers, including Chair of Antioch University’s MA Urban Sustainability Program: Donald Strauss, Al McKie of NEW HOOD ORDER, Damon Turner of Unity Sports, filmmaker Guenny Pires of Txan Arts, and of course, JIMBO TIMES!
In addition to thanking these volunteers, Yolanda also gave a huge shout out the Principal and Vice Principal of New LA – Brooke Rios and Brooke Goldberg, respectively, for supporting this much needed community education and advocacy.
To learn more about how you can support or help to create more “bike clinics” around L.A. for youth and education, check out Yolanda’s work at Ride In Living Color. And GO NEW L.A!
JIMBO TIMES is absolutely proud of you all!
With Love,
J.T.
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