Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, PA -
A long line of families had already formed before 11 a.m. at Kirby Park on Thursday, all patiently awaiting a chance to get their children free bicycle helmets.
"We started at 11:15 and they were already lining up," said HKQ employee Chrissy Yachera.
Roughly 20 employees of the law firm worked tirelessly filling balloons, registering families, transporting helmets and fitting children.
About 1,500 helmets filled massive boxes under the tent, each organized by age group and gender. Children were able to choose a helmet in red, blue or silver that came with a bag, extra padding and a visor.
HKQ project manager Sue Greenfield was already hard at work adjusting a boy's helmet to properly fit his head at one of the three fitting stations. She spoke of the incident 13 years ago that led to the start of the event.
“We had a lawsuit for a little boy that unfortunately did not make it out of the emergency room. We promised the family that we would try to do something for the community and one of our employees said let's give away bike helmets,” she said of the event's inception.
In the process of fitting a child for their own helmet, Greenfield said to make sure the helmet is snug yet not too tight and remains horizontal to the ground on their head.
“The biggest part you want to do is make sure the front part of the head is always protected,” she said.
She's also reminding children and their families the importance of road safety.
“We're really trying to get the message out to tell the kids to obey the rules of the road. Hands on the handlebars at all times. They have to ride into traffic coming face-forward. Stop signs and lights; they have to stop,” she added.
Plymouth resident Carol Prevish brought her two sons, Liam and Nathan, as well as her niece and nephew, Olivia and Logan, to get helmets at the event.
“(Liam) just learned how to ride a bike like four days ago and I'm like ‘we need a helmet',” she said. “We just got him off training wheels, now he's riding everywhere.”
When it was her family's turn, Kathy Menzies gave some tips on adjusting the helmet in the future.
“Now it might be a little looser when she puts it on without this,” she said as she pointed to a small ponytail on Olivia. “The ponytails can be a problem because we can't fit it properly, we need to take it out.”
Sue Kluger and her husband, Attorney Alan Kluger, have been helping at the event since it began. She praised the office staff for creating a successful, streamlined giveaway, adding that the group now travels to Scranton for an additional giveaway.
She also told families not to fret if they stop by for a helmet and all have been given out.
“We'll take orders if we run out,” she said.
