Wells Elementary School in Wilson will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012.

 

Over 100 students from Wells will be walking to school Wednesday along with parents, police, teachers and community leaders, including Mayor Bruce Rose, Police Chief Thomas Hopkins, and AJ Rightway.

 

The event will begin at 7:30 a.m.with kids, police, parents, and community leaders walking safety together from two locations: the parking lot behind Dick’s Hot Dogs on Nash Street, and the culdesac at the end of Kincaid Avenue, North. Walkers will arrive at the school about 8 a.m. Other special activities associated with the walk include a raffle to give away a bicycle and gift certificate for athletic shoes, donated by the Evening Optimists Club of Wilson. Walkers will also receive a special “safe walker” badge.

 

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is expected to be celebrated at over 3,500 events at participating schools. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world. The City of Wilson has officially declared October 3, 2011 as International Walk to School Day!

 

Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

 

The event is being organized by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, Wilson Police, Wilson County Schools, and the City of Wilson Planning Department. It is linked to the City’s participation in the Safe Routes to School program with the NC Department of Transportation and the National Center for Safe Routes to School, and supports the City’s Walk on Wilson program, an initiative to promote safe walking in the City. Walk to School Day is held annually at a different elementary school each year. All schools are encouraged to create and participate in their own events – please contact the City’s Planning Department for information and ideas on how to create your own event!

 

For additional local information, please contact Michelle Brown at 252-399-2226 or msbrown@wilsonnc.org.