Community-minded nursing promotes cyclist safety

trevor.kenney — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:00:17 +0000

Serendipity and a spirit of volunteerism combined to create a fantastic community event promoting cyclist safety in Milk River, Alta., this spring.

The spirit of volunteerism led nursing student Kari Putzi to take charge of cycling safety initiatives in Milk River.

In March, Kari Putzi, a third-year Bachelor of Nursing student with two elementary school-aged children, just happened to be attending a meeting of the Southwest Alberta Road and Safety Society to request a crash safety demonstration for her program’s wellness week and learned that the Society’s cyclist safety event, or “bicycle rodeo,” would not be appearing in Milk River due to lack of funding. The spirit of volunteerism kicked in when Putzi decided to take charge, raising money and eventually enthusiasm for the bike rodeo.

In the end, the event was a huge success, with an obstacle course that taught kids about traffic signs, cyclist signals and road smarts. Two new bikes were raffled off, and each of the 78 elementary school students in attendance received a free new bicycle helmet fitted to them.

“My involvement definitely had something to do with the fact that I have kids in the elementary school, but also I was mystified as to why we were the only community not on board. It just seemed like such a worthwhile thing to do,” says Putzi.

UNews - Kari Putzi

Community-minded nursing promotes cyclist safety

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