Our Bike Smart program teaches student all across Vermont how to bike smartly, safely, and confidently thanks to our classrooms on wheels. Find out more about how your local school can borrow our equipment!
Vermont schools and summer programs can now borrow the Kohl's Kids Bike Smart trailer -- full of kids' bikes and all equipment and supplies needed for on-bike skills trainings -- at NO CHARGE other than a small delivery fee. The trailer includes everything you need to teach bike skills to kids in grades 3 through 8.
Kohl's Kids Bike Smart is a partnership between the Kohl's Cares program. and the Vermont Children's Hospital, with funding provided by Kohl's Department Stores. Kohl's Kids Bike Smart is powered by Local Motion, Northwest Vermont's walk-bike advocates, under contract with the Vermont Children's Hospital.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Schools and camps must have someone on staff trained in the Bike Smart On Bike curriculum in order to be eligible to request the trailer and bikes. There are no group training opportunities scheduled at this point. We will travel to schools to conduct trainings on-site.
The Kohl's Kids Bike Smart equipment loaner program includes:
- A secure, weatherproof 20-foot cargo van with 30-40 high-quality kids' bikes in various sizes
- All needed equipment and supplies for conducting bike skills trainings, including helmets, traffic cones, spray chalk, and more
- A clear and concise curriculum guide that divides the training into modules that instructors can mix and match to fit their needs
We will deliver the trailer to a school and leave it there for one to two weeks (depending on trailer availability and number of kids to be trained). Our staff are available to troubleshoot and answer questions by phone throughout the program. When all trainings had been completed, we will take the trailer to the next school.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
In order to keep the costs down for this program, there is a nominal fee to help cover fuel costs for travel beyond Chittenden County. Fees have been increased for the 2014-2015 year:
Chittenden county: $50 round-trip delivery fee
Addison, Washington, Lamoille, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties: $125 round trip delivery fee
Rutland, Windsor, Orange, Caledonia, and Orleans counties: $200 round trip delivery fee
Bennington, Windham, or Essex counties: $275 round-trip delivery fee
- We encourage schools to submit coordinated requests with nearby schools so as to allow the trailer to stay in a given region for several weeks. If schools can make suitable arrangements to have the trailer moved from one school to the next, the delivery and pick-up fees can be split across schools
- We prioritize schools that make efficient and comprehensive use of their time with the trailer. For example, a school that incorporates bike skills training into all PE classes, makes it the focus of the afterschool program, and organizes a bike festival or ride at the end of the week will get higher priority than a school that simply does a PE unit on bike skills.
- We reach out actively to schools serving disproportionate numbers of students from low- and moderate-income families and encourage such schools to apply. Delivery fees are waived for schools with 50% or more of their population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
We are no longer accepting requests for the trailer for the 2015-2016 school year. If you are interested in requesting the trailer for next year, fill out the 2016-2017 Fall and Spring Kohl's Kids Bike Smart Trailer Request Form*
If you are a summer program who is interested in requesting the trailer for summer 2016, fill out the 2016 Summer Camp Request Form
For more information about this program, please contact Mary Catherine Graziano or (802) 861-2700 x106.