End of Summer and Back to School Wisely with RideWise: Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center(JCC) Learn to Ride

Their parents shared how much they enjoyed it and came at a great time for them to gear up for back to school in safely riding their bikes. 

Parents, let's get kids moving safely whether riding a bike or walking to school. If you're interested in signing your child up for one of our Learn to Ride Events, click the button below. This is a  free public event  where all are welcome. 

Welcoming and Hiring New Staff Members:

 

Earlier this year back in April, we welcomed Reese Lewin and Sierra Saint-Vil.

 

Reese serves as our Operations Program Specialist  leading several of our programs and events including Safe Routes to School, Learn to Ride, and BikeConnect.

 

Sierra serves as our Marketing and Communications Specialist  manages digital marketing, internal and external communications, content creation, and strategic planning. 

 

We are currently seeking two new hires to serve as our Community Mobility Specialist/Travel Trainer and Sustainable Transportation Coordinator/Data Specialist.

First Bridgewater Pedestrian Safety Campaign and Community Event: "Step into Safety Wisely with RideWise"

 

 

We kicked things off early this past summer in celebrating, but also to spread awareness about pedestrian safety within the community. We successfully led an impactful campaign and community event targeting Bridgewater as our first pedestrian safety campaign. We engaged with Bridgewater families who stopped by our "Step into Safety Wisely with RideWise" community event table to learn more about pedestrian safety.

 

There was something for parents and children as they both explored how they can do their part to keep Bridgewater safer. When asked during the Parent Pedestrian Safety Participation Board Activity, one parent shared, “I plan to show more about safety to my children by taking them out and be more aware to look around.” 

BikeConnect Program 100th Client Celebration and Recognizing National Preparedness, Self-Improvement, and Self-Care Month with "Let's GO Bike Together Campaign" Launch

Marc supports us with repairing the gently used bikes we receive and grant to deserving BikeConnect recipients who need bikes for employment and daily necessities. 

 

Guess what month it is?

Besides the fall season upon us, it is also National Preparedness, Self-Improvement, and Self-Care Month. We are beyond excited that we have launched our first and new "Let's GO Bike Together" promotional marketing campaign which spreads awareness about the  BikeConnect program and celebrates its 100th client milestone, and encourages people to donate "gently used" bikes to grow the program. 

 

If interested in learn more about the campaign, the BikeConnect program, and how to donate a gently used bike, visit here or click on the read more button. 

Safety Video Contest Winners – Kennedy Price, Arav Parikh, and Saish Nellutla

The Safety Video Contest is back and we just awarded our three amazing winners who are all Franklin High School students. They all did an excellent job in developing cycling, pedestrian, and driving videos to highlight the importance of road safety when riding a bike, driving, or crossing the street. We also had the pleasure of having them showcase their videos in our first community safety round table conversation where they shared their thoughts on their video submissions and observations and advice about the impact of pedestrian and road safety in their community. 

 

We are excited to see what the next lineup of great safety video submissions and students will be, but also the impact they will have on their community and peers. 

 

If interested in participating in next year's Safety Video Contest, please email sarah@ridewise.org.

Announcing the 2025 SRTS Winners- Alexander Batcho Intermediate School, Weston Elementary School, Roosevelt School, First Step Oak Street School. First Step Manville High School, Bridgewater Raritan High School, and Hamilton Primary School

We are excited to share that these schools successfully achieved gold, bronze, and first step recognition in the Safe Routes to School 2025 Recognition Program. With each school that we partner with, we are thrilled to be able to support them in creating a more safe, healthy, and reliable way to travel. 

 

Donna Allison, our Executive Director shared, “Each year, RideWise proudly nominates schools in Somerset County that go above and beyond to ensure students can walk and bike to school safely and enjoyably. This year, I’m pleased to announce RideWise recognized seven outstanding schools for their innovative Safe Routes to School programs.”