Parents Promote a Healthy Alternative to Kiss and Ride

Parents gathered at Old Post Road and Old Lee Highway on Wednesday to give student walkers a treat and spread an eco-friendly message.

They joined thousands of parents and neighbors in International Walk/Bike to School Day (iWalk), an annual attempt to show the community that walking to and from schools is a healthy and safe alternative to waiting in the kiss and ride line.

"My motivation was to create awareness that we can choose to walk over taking a car to school – especially when we live within walking distance of the school," said Country Club Hills parent Lisa Whetzel. "Of course, not everyone is within walking distance, but the whole concept helps kids/parents think about other ways they could walk/bike instead of using a car. It’s a positive reinforcement for making an environmentally friendly decisions every day."

Whetzel and about five other parents gave out donut holes, strawberries, muffins, stickers and pencils to kids walking to school in their neighborhood. The group came back in the afternoon to catch the home-bound crowd.

Supporters held over 3,500 walk/ride awareness events at last year's iWalk. Program organizers suspect that there more families and clubs participated in the event but did not register online, like the handful of Fairfax City parents near Van Dyck Park.