Hello everyone, my name is Caitlin and I am the Safe Routes to School Event Coordinator at Feet First.  My fancy title can be translated as “I get to play with kids and teach them how cool it is to walk to school.”  Needless to say, I have a pretty fun job!

October was International Walk to School Month and Feet First was busy designing and implementing Walk to School events at various Seattle Elementary Schools.  The events ranged from day-long to month-long events and we saw fantastic numbers of walkers.  I’ll highlight just a few of the 15 elementary schools in Seattle, 33 in King County, and 61 in the state of Washington that participated in International Walk to School Month :

The month-long event held at Concord Elementary was part of Concord’s ongoing “Walk Around the World” event.  Over the last two years Concord has held 3 month-long Walk to School events.  They started with a goal of walking the equivalent of the distance between Seattle and Mexico City, or about 2,300 miles!  During their most recent attempt this October, 150 students walked a total of 806.5 miles, which, when added to their totals accumulated during their past events, equates to about 2,340 miles.  Congratulations Concord, you made it to Mexico City!

Greenlake Elementary also hosted a month-long Walk to School event.  Feet First’s Mascot, the Chicken, made an appearance several mornings at Greenlake, where she asked the students “Why did the chicken cross the road?” to which the correct answer was “To (safely) get to Greenlake Elementary!”  With the encouragement of the chicken, 80 Greenlake students walked an impressive 806.5 miles in October!  Nice job Greenlake!

Coe Elementary School held a week-long Walk to School event from 10/10 – 10/13.  Each day of the campaign had a different theme, including scavenger hunt day, chicken day, and trash pick-up day.  Students at Coe really got into the event and made a fantastic effort to walk to school.  Overall, 123 students walked 204 miles in just 4 days!  Way to go Coe!

Overall, International Walk to School Month was a huge success and I’m looking forward to May, when Feet First will be back in the schools celebrating International Walk and Bike to School Month.