Marian Regional Medical Center donated 60 bike helmets to local schoolchildren

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria recently donated 60 bike helmets to elementary school children who completed a month-long bike safety course.

The helmets were given to third and fourth-grade students at Alvin and Rice Elementary Schools in Santa Maria as part of a hands-on bicycle education course taught by SBBIKE+COAST volunteers, said Sara San Juan, spokeswoman for Marian Regional Medical Center.

Once the students completed the course, SBBIKE+COAST hosted a bike sale for students, selling pre-owned bikes that were "carefully inspected and renovated" for only $20, San Juan said.

The bike purchase included a free helmet to make sure that students bike safely on the streets.

SBBIKE+COAST promotes walking, biking, and public transit to create healthy and sustainable communities, San Juan said, and its countywide Safe Routes to School program reaches more than 10,000 students a year.