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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2004

CONTACT: Ian Thomas
Project Director
(573) 445-2928
pednet at pednet.org 
or
Chris Walthall
Walking School Bus Coordinator
(573) 884-0464
walthallc at missouri.edu 


International Walk To School Day
	
	(COLUMBIA, MO) - Grant Elementary School students and parents
are encouraged to walk or bike to and from school on "International
Walk To School Day" Wednesday, Oct. 6. To celebrate the
internationalism of the school, children will carry flags from countries
represented at Grant.
This event is held in conjunction with the Active Living By Design
project of the PedNet Coalition. Active Living By Design is a project
designed to increase physical activity among Columbia residents by
looking at environmental and policy issues, in addition to addressing
barriers to physical activity. 

Walk to School Day is an opportunity to:

encourage students, parents and staff to walk, bicycle or wheel
themselves to and from school,

increase awareness of the importance of regular physical activity,

increase awareness of the importance of improved pedestrian safety,

promote healthy and "walkable" communities, and to

mobilize communities to work together to create safe routes.

For those families who do not live in neighborhoods close enough to
walk from home, a "staging post" will be set up at Office Depot at 8
a.m. so families may walk to school as a group.  University of Missouri
Athletic Director Mike Alden (and his son Jake) and Mayor Darwin Hindman
will walk with the kids.
A similar event was held at Grant Elementary School at the end of
January. On one of the coldest days of the year, 175 students
participated - over half of the school's students.
For more information, please contact either Ian Thomas or Chris
Walthall.

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