Peoria, IL… State Representative David Leitch (R-Peoria) recently announced the Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria will receive $50,000 in grant funding through the “Safe Routes to School” program. The funds will be used to train schools and communities on creating safe routes to schools for children to walk and ride their bikes.
“Each year, the doctors and nurses at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois treat too many children from across the state who were involved in accidents as they were walking or biking to school,” said Leitch. “So to cut down on the number of related accidents, the Children’s Hospital has helped secure these newly released funds which help our community and schools learn about ways to protect children as they walk or bike to school.”
The federally funded program helps establish walking and biking safety education programs, improves roads and sidewalks children travel to school, and enforce caution in school zones for drivers.
Benefits of the program include teaching children about the importance of exercise as a part of a healthy lifestyle, cutting down on congestion in school areas, and ensuring safety and caution for pedestrians and drivers during travel to and from school. “The support provided by these grant funds ensure our children live healthy while reducing pedestrian and car related accidents while going to school,” said Leitch.