International Walk to School Day is October 9

Wednesday, October 9 is International Walk to School Day and again local schools in Guthrie are set to celebrate Walk to School Day in the USA.

Last year 300 Guthrie students from Fogarty Elementary, Guthrie Upper Elementary School and St. Mary’s students walked to their school to help build awareness for the need for walkable communities. Each school met at their destination at 7:40 a.m. and walked to their respective school.

In 2000, the event became international when the UK and Canada (both of which had already been promoting walking to school) and the USA joined together for the first International Walk to School Day.

Although Walk to School Day is focused more on walking, the day welcomes and encourages all forms of active transportation to school.

Quick Facts and Figures: The History of Walk to School Day and Bike to School Day

• The Partnership for a Walkable America sponsored the first National Walk Our Children to School Day in Chicago in 1997, modeled after the United Kingdom’s walk to school events, and  communities around the United States have been celebrating Walk to School Day ever since.
• The event was established as “International” in 2000, when Canada and the U.K. joined with the U.S. to celebrate. Around the globe, International Walk to School Month brings together more than 40 countries in recognition of the common interest in walking to school.
• In August 2005, federal legislation established a National Safe Routes to School Program that provided $612 million towards Safe Routes to School from 2005 to 2010. SRTS programs continue to operate in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. As of December 31, 2011, due to continuing congressional extensions, the total amount of funding apportioned to states was more than $978 million.
• More than 12,500 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have been awarded federal funds for Safe Routes to School activities.
• More than half of Walk to School events are part of ongoing activities to promote walking and bicycling throughout the year.
• In 2006, world-wide interest led the International Walk to School Committee to establish International Walk to School Month – countries choose a day, week or use the entire month of October to promote walking to school.
• Participation in Walk to School Day 2011 reached a record high, with more than 4,000 events registered from all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Many more communities held events but did not register.
• The first-ever National Bike to School Day will take place on May 9, 2012, as part of National Bike Month. Local events across the U.S. will encourage children to safely bicycle or walk to school. Many communities and schools have been holding spring walk and bicycle to school events for years. National Bike to School Day provides an opportunity for schools across the country to join together and to build on the energy of National Bike Month.