WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — Whether on scooters, skates, boards, or bikes -- wearing a helmet is important.
"I just started to learn how to ride a bike and I'm getting a new helmet so it could protect my head," explains Rylee Hayles.
On Thursday, Rylee got a helmet of her own, as did all of her schoolmates at Warrensville Heights Elementary School.
"They have 900 kids in this school and they're all getting one today," says Jennifer Walker from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital injury prevention. "And we don't want to just give them a helmet so we measure them, we fit them, we adjust the straps, we show the kids how to wear them properly."
You see helmets are a passion project, one that's top of mind for the Safe Kids Greater Cleveland Coalition and University Hospitals (UH).
"It's not always easy to get kids to wear their helmet," adds Walker. "They either don't want to or they don't like it, so getting them excited is half the battle."
UH says one of the leading causes of child injuries they often see in their trauma center are falls and head injuries. There are more than 2,500 students in Cuyahoga County, with 80% from underserved communities.
"Sometimes the cost is prohibitive, they're not super cheap to go into the store and buy a helmet. So if we can overcome that barrier and at least they have the tools to be safe, we're halfway there," says Walker.
But the cost to keep these kids safe is a price that the largest online retail giant is happy to pay. Amazon donated $50,000 to the coalition.
"It's important to offer different styles of helmets," says Amazon's Travis O'Neill. "Helmet culture is a thing, so if I like pink, I want to wear pink helmet and if I don't like pink, I'm probably not going to wear a helmet, so its important to provide choices."
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