AURORA, Colo. – Strider Bikes and Colorado-based Soul Day Foundation teamed up to give free bikes to children in the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program, otherwise known as CAMP, this Saturday morning.
Children’s Hospital Colorado’s CAMP Program is a multidisciplinary prenatal and postnatal program that focuses on the medical, social and emotional needs of young mothers and their families.
Each patient visits with a doctor, nurse or midwife, a caseworker, a nutritionist and a social worker. In many cases, these mothers are also connected to a psychologist.
Around one-third to one-half of CAMP mothers have faced trauma -- whether domestic violence from family members, or intimate partner violence.
Nearly one-fourth are battling depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses, according to numbers provided to Denver7 by the CAMP program.
Through Saturday’s event, CAMP’s young mothers and children learned the value of being active, and the group was taught how to care for their new bikes and were given safety tips.
The bikes by Strider Sports are designed for children age 18-months to 5-years-old, and for older riders with balance coordination challenges.
These are no-pedal balance bikes. Strider's mission is to simplify bike riding -- combining proper size and weight to eliminate fear of riding and instill confidence.
Boulder Junior Cycling members assembled 50 bikes for Saturday’s Soul Strider Day.
"Philanthropy is one of our core values, so we are thrilled to work with Soul Day Foundation to improve the health of the children in the CAMP program," Strider CEO and Founder Ryan McFarland said.
McFarland added, "In the last decade, Strider has donated over $850,000 through its Rider Fund to organizations that serve children and adults in need.”
Carrie Dorr, founder and chair-woman of Soul Day Foundation said, "The Soul Strider Day is an event where kids can be kids and experience the simple joys of life leaving a lifelong impact on those attending and everyone involved."
The event ran from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at General’s Park in Aurora.