Carrine falls down, pick herself up, and rides a bike

Meet Carrine, one of our long time students and early adopter of our Bike Armada program. When Carrine was a first grader she was tall for her age and not very confident. With Kids Co. nurture, Carrine is an avid cyclist! In her words, “I did not know how to ride a 2-wheeler and all the big kids did, so I wanted to learn, but every time I tried, I fell back down! So one day I came to one of the Kids Co. teachers named Ms. Maren, and she taught me how. Anyway, I threw on the bright yellow helmet and got on the bike. The first few times didn’t go well. She said ‘try to pedal this time.’ So she started pushing me and let go! On the third try, with a little practice, I DID IT.”

Like many children of working parents, Carrine and her brother and sister spend as many of their waking hours in childcare as they do in school. Their mother was able to get them bikes, but with the long hours she needed to work to support her three children, she did not have the time or space to teach her kids how to ride. Having a bike in her summer camp and supportive teachers made all the difference!

Your support made it possible for Carrine to fall down, pick herself up, and ride a bike!

John Benner
Program Manager, Kids Co. at South Shore