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Coming Together : Community Coalitions Community coalitions bring together all kinds of dedicated individuals: law enforcement officers, doctors, health educators, engineers, parents, senior citizens, and other concerned community members. Together, and often with the cooperation of public/private interests, professional organizations, or governmental agencies, they strive for multi-disciplinary solutions to bicycling problems in their region. Unlike larger, nationwide public/private alliances, community coalitions are usually locally based. Their concentrated focus affords them a close relationship to their community, and the knowledge and skills to better support it and improve the quality of life for its citizens. Two excellent models for community coalitions are Safe Communities and SAFE Kids, which exist in many cities and communities throughout the United States. Safe Communities, a project of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is a national organization dedicated to creating local community coalitions to prevent motor vehicle injuries, the leading cause of death for each age group from 5 through 27. The vast majority of these injuries and deaths are predictable and preventable. As Safe Communities emphasizes, expanded partnerships with representatives of the business community, health community, and government agencies are an important step in creating community involvement to seek solutions. Developing new alliances among traditional highway and traffic safety advocates also serves to better promote Safe Community practices and make gains in injury prevention. For a valuable outreach and promotion resource, click here to read the publication, "Safe Communities: Taking it to the Streets". By working at a national level through grassroots community coalitions, Safe Kids, a campaign which aims to prevent the number one killer of children—unintentional injury, educates adults and children alike, provides safety devices to families in need, works to pass and strengthen laws to empower families and communities, and to protect children ages 14 and under. Bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product, except for the automobile. For this reason, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign is dedicated to promoting safe bicycling among children. With a long-standing partnership behind them, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and Bell Sports provide discounted bike helmets to families who need them and, with the help of SAFE KIDS coalitions across the country, host bike safety rallies in communities throughout the United States. Coalitions also advocate for helmet legislation and enforcement in their communities. Read more about this and other SAFE KIDS projects on their site. |