July Fourth gift to kids: safety

FORTY FORT – Children 12 and under who attend the July Fourth fireworks celebration at Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre can pick up a gift that will keep them safer while riding their bikes.

For the second year in a row, the Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn Foundation for Children’s Advocacy, also known as HKQ Kids, will give away hundreds of free children’s bicycle helmets.

Attorney Michelle M. Quinn, spokeswoman for HKQ Kids, said the foundation gave away 650 helmets at last year’s celebration at Kirby Park, and there were still children standing in line when the helmet supply ran out.

This year, HKQ Kids bought 850 helmets. If demand outpaces supply again, parents whose children don’t receive helmets can fill out a form to be contacted after a second helmet order is filled.

“We gave away more than 600 bike helmets last year, but we still see young children in our communities riding bicycles without helmets, Quinn said.

“It’s against the law for children under 12 to ride without helmets, but it’s also extremely dangerous. The vast majority of serious injuries and deaths from bicycle accidents involving kids result from head injuries – injuries that could be prevented by wearing a helmet,” Quinn said.

Attorney Joseph A. Quinn Jr., a senior partner at Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn, said most parents “want to do the right thing” when it comes to their children’s safety, but it’s not always easy.

“Especially in this economy,” Michelle Quinn added, “when you’re looking at buying a bicycle helmet or putting food on the table, people are going to choose the latter.”

She said the helmets will be distributed from a booth on the main path near the pavilion in Kirby Park between 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Children must be 12 and under and accompanied by an adult to receive a helmet.

The helmets are manufactured by Bell and are approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Mark Farrell, of Sickler Bike Shop in Exeter, provided the helmets to HKQ Kids at a discounted price, Michelle Quinn said.

Joseph Quinn said the law firm established the foundation in 2005 after winning a settlement involving “a 5-year-old boy who lost his life unnecessarily. … We wanted to give something back,” he said.

In addition to the helmet giveaway last year, HKQ Kids also has provided four rounds of free babysitting training classes for youths 11 to 15 and twice provided free swimming lessons for children.

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HKQ Kids Foundation will give away bicycle helmets at Kirby Park event.

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