Trike-a-thon, Kōkua in Action May 9, 2012
Kōkua; helping and sharing, is a value keiki can learn at a young age. When the Kona Tūtū and Me team was asked to coordinate a trike-a-thon event, they saw it as a perfect opportunity for their families to practice this important Hawaiian value. So, they put on their helmets and enjoyed the ride!
What is a trike-a-thon? Trike-a-thon is in coordination with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It is a fun curriculum that teaches keiki riding-toy safety skills and helps raise money for research and treatment.
In the month of April, Kona keiki learned how to be safe on their trikes. The Tūtū teachers read stories that taught the lessons of riding-toy safety. Always wear a helmet. Never ride in the street. Always be careful near driveways. Always watch where you are going.
At the end of the month, keiki brought their trikes, bikes and other riding toys and helmets to the park for an event to practice the rules they’d learned. Tūtū teachers set up cones and chalked arrows for a riding course. After some yoga stretches, the pedals hit the metal and the keiki were off! Round and round they rode, remembering how to be safe and have fun!
The teachers observed safe keiki and kōkua, too! Although each keiki brought their own riding toy, many hopped on another’s to try out their ride. Keiki didn’t mind sharing and showed an appreciation for other’s sharing their toys with them. Maika‘i loa!
Mahalo sponsors! At the end of the day, it was a fun filled event with safe riding. At the end of the month, Kona families voluntarily raised $1,266 to help the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. These donations enable St. Jude to continue its mission of finding cures and saving children with cancer and other childhood diseases. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance and no child is denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. At the time of Kona’s trike-a-thon, there were eight keiki from Hawai‘i at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.