On September 9, 2011, 14-year-old Jesse Nealey was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle on Talbot Street in Blenheim, Ontario. The following day Jesse died as a result of injuries sustained from that tragic accident.
Every year in Canada, approximately 115 children die as a result of pedestrian injuries. By combining skill-building safety courses for bicyclists with heightened awareness by motorists, many unfortunate injuries and deaths can be prevented.
The Chatham-Kent Children’s Safety Village offers outstanding safety awareness programs to local schoolchildren. The Bicycle Safety Program teaches Grade 4 students important hands-on cycling skills. The overall cost for a full day of programs is $75 per student. By enabling more children to enroll in these well-structured and well-presented programs, our collective peace of mind as a community is sure to flourish.
Each October, on the Saturday closest to Jesse’s birthdate (October 21, 1996), a fundraising walk is held in Chatham-Kent to raise awareness of road-related safety and to honour the memory of a young man who contributed greatly to his community. All proceeds from the walk are donated to the Chatham-Kent Children’s Safety Village in Jesse’s name. The donations help ensure that schoolchildren have access to safety programs.
Thanks to the amazing generosity of Chatham-Kent citizens, the two previous walks (2011 and 2012) raised enough to help 135 schoolchildren benefit greatly from safety programs at the Chatham-Kent Children’s Safety Village. This year, walk organizers are hoping to surpass the amount raised in 2012. In order to do that, we need your help.
When: Saturday, October 19, 2013 – 11am–1pm
Where: Centennial Park, Talbot Street East, Blenheim, Ontario
For More Information please visit http://jesseswalk.org/
