TULSA, Okla. — The start of the 2023-2024 school year is just a few weeks away, and some Tulsa Public Schools will have something new to look forward to.
Bike Club, a kid-centered program, is expanding this school year. It's a program that focuses on getting kids outdoors, exercising, and learning new skills in life and activities.
Bike Club is already in dozens of TPS sites. This school year, they are expanding to three Tulsa elementary schools, including Hamilton, Springdale, and Celia Clinton.
This will bring Bike Clubs numbers up to 34 TPS schools. That is roughly half of the schools in the district.
After-school youth cycling education is the main program Bike Club has.
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They teach kids about skills and safety on bikes and then go on field trips on the bikes.
It's also a way to provide mentorship to the students involved.
Being able to add three Tulsa elementary schools to their list means a lot to those who run the organization.
"Each year, we try to grow responsibly. We feel we can handle three more schools," said Mike Wozniak, the program manager for Bike Club. "We can put a bike club in every Tulsa Public School. Our limit is volunteers."
He said to be able to grow successfully, they need volunteers not just for these three new schools but also for current schools.
Clubs at each school can have up to 20 students. For that number of kids, they like to have five volunteers per club. This means they need around 20 new volunteers for the three new sites.
Wozniak told 2 News it's rewarding and important to mentor these kids.
"When we look at our city, it's only as healthy as our kids and our schools. It's so important how volunteering and mentoring kids really is. It's important for the health and wellness of our city," he said.
A volunteer will need to commit to helping about an hour and a half a week after school, which is around 3 p.m.
The club meets ten times in the fall and ten times in the spring for a total of 20 times a school year.
Applications can be found on the Bike Club website.
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