Keystone sponsors fund-raiser for bike safety

Date: 5/31/2011

May 30, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

SPRINGFIELD — Summer is fast approaching and the time when the streets and parks are filled with children on bicycles, scooters and skateboards will soon be upon us.

Every child should be wearing a helmet approved by the Consumer Public Safety Committee (CPSC). However, those helmets can be very expensive. That's why the marketing team at Keystone Woods Senior Living Center on Grayson Avenue has decided to lend a hand.

"We knew that school is getting out soon and those kids would be hopping on their bikes and scooters," Angie Thornton, director of Marketing, said. "We wanted to provide the kids with some safety."

The senior living community is currently conducting a fund-raiser that aims to collect $5,000 in order to provide each student a proper helmet.

According to Keystone and Mary M Lynch Principal Linda Wilson, 85 percent of the school's 279 students come from what Wilson termed "socio-economically challenged households" and spending $30 for a helmet for some is not possible without sacrificing something else.

In addition to cash, Keystone is accepting helmets that are brought in by those wishing to help out. The only requirement is the helmets must have the CPSC logo. According the Thornton, Sun Dance Rehabilitation in Holyoke has notified them that they have taken up a collection of helmets to be donated to the cause.

"There has been a really great response from people so far who want to donate money and helmets," Thornton said.

Beth Leete, a member of the Keystone Marketing Department, said they need all donations by June 13.

"That's the last day of school and you know once those kids leave the school for the summer, there's no way you're getting them back there," Leete said.

Anyone interested in donating may do so by contacting Keystone at 426-9868 or by visiting either the Gardens or the Grayson House on Grayson Drive.

"The concierge staff at both locations know all about the program and would be very happy to help you," Leete said. "Or if you'd like, Angie and I would also be very happy to answer any questions you might have."

Keystone chose Mary M. Lynch as its "adoptive" school when it constructed its Sixteen Acres facility and has done a number of things over the past five years to benefit the students.

"When we first opened this community, we wanted to be involved in the surrounding community," Thornton said. "We wanted to show that Keystone Woods was part of this community and we're proud of that,"

In addition to raising money and donating books and supplies for the school, members of the Keystone community have been active in interacting with the students, including monthly read-along programs.

A men's club at Keystone hosts an annual ice cream social for students, while the Garden Belles, a women's group at the facility, has knit caps for the students in the winter. There has even been a "Soul Food Night" during Black History Month to which Keystone invites students who have written about influential African Americans who have inspired them.

"Having a connection to the community is very important," Wilson said. "These young people are part of this community and it's important for them to get to know it, appreciate it and want to give back."

Wilson added that it is also a benefit to have a part of the community actively taking interest in the school.

"I think that it can help give an awareness of what the schools and students are dealing with academically, socially and emotionally," Wilson said. "In building community bonds, you find you're not just trying to advocate on your own behalf and that someone else is looking out for your best interests as well."