For Immediate Release

Mount Penn Elementary Center and WalkBikeBerks host
International Walk to School Day, October 8, 2008 at 7:45 a.m.
Redner's Warehouse Market

801 Carsonia Avenue

Reading, PA 19606-1201

Contact:

Michele Bleacher, Assistant Principal
2310 Cumberland Avenue, Reading Pa, 19606

Phone: 610-779-3547

Fax: 610-779-6937

Or

Michele Barrett, Board President
PO Box 6795, Wyomissing, PA 19610
Phone: (610) 779-9702

Mount Penn, PA – Mount Penn Elementary Center and WalkBikeBerks will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on October 8, 2008. More than 400 students are invited to walk to school along with parents, teachers and community leaders. Congressman Gerlach, Senator O’Pake, Representative Santoni, Mayor Nowotarski, Chief of Police Anthony Garipoli, Sr., Redner’s Spokesperson Eric White, Principal Kerry Hoffman, Executive Board Members of WalkBikeBerks, and the Excellent Teaching Staff of the Elementary Center have committed to walking with us. The event will begin at 7:45 a.m. with kids, parents and community leaders walking from Redner’s Warehouse Markets. Walkers will arrive at the school by 8:30.

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world. Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

“One of our goals at Mt. Penn Elementary Center is to support the wellness of our students, staff and community. We are excited to participate in an international event that encourages healthy choices. We plan to continue our efforts this year by encouraging and educating our students about pedestrian safety within our daily curriculum and programming,” reports Michele Bleacher, Assistant Principal at Mount Penn.

The event is being organized by WalkBikeBerks. WalkBikeBerks works to promote Safe Routes to School and Complete Streets county-wide. Please join us as we make walking and bicycling practical, convenient, and safe in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Allison Topper, the executive director of Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition & Activity (PANA) , explains, “physical activity of any kind is great for kids, but walking or biking to school is a wonderful opportunity for parents and kids to spend quality time together and promote a healthier lifestyle for the whole family.”

PANA is a statewide coalition of various public and private partners working with schools and communities to promote healthy eating and active living. Walk to School Day is funded in part by PennDOT.

For additional information, please visit these Web sites:
PANA Safe Routes to School Academy http://www.srtsacademy.org/.
WalkBikeBerks http://walkbikeberks.blogspot.com/
International Walk to School in the USA http://www.walktoschool.org/
National Center for Safe Routes to School http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/

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