Community Corner

Volunteers Needed: Help Teach Students With Disabilities to Ride a Bike

The annual Lose the Training Wheels event is coming back to the Lincoln-Way area students, and more volunteers are needed to help students with disabilities learn to ride without training wheels.

Area students with disabilities will get to learn to independently ride a bicycle next week, but more volunteers are needed to make it happen.

For the fifth year, the Lincoln-Way Area Special Education District 843 has partnered with the Lose the Training Wheels organization as part of a national learn-to-ride program. 

The camp is offered for students age 8 and older who have a diagnosed disability such as autism, Down syndrome or cerebral palsy. 

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"To give a child independence is just an incredible gift," 843 District director Sally Bintz . "To see a student start out on Monday and not be able to ride a bike and by Friday to see them 'launched'... I look at the smiles on the students' faces, but the smiles and tears on the parents' faces are just amazing," she added.

To Volunteer

Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age or older and be able to commit to all five days at the same time each day. That helps build trust among the campers.

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The camp is next week, June 11 through June 15, and there are five 75-minute sessions each day ( 8:30 - 9:45,  10:05 - 11:20,  11:40 - 12:55, then break for lunch returning at 2:15 - 3:30,  3:50 - 5:05). The camp is at the in New Lenox. A training session is at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 10 at the Spencer Campus. 

If you can commit to one time slot every day next week, call Dee Johnsten at 815-485-7611 to receive a registration form. Johnsten asked volunteers to register by the end of this Friday, June 8, so T-shirts can be ordered.  

 


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