What a month April was for Nine13sports and Kids Riding Bikes®! In addition to getting more than 800 students on our bikes at our Bicycle Operations Hub, Merle Sidener Gifted Academy, and Avon Middle School North, we were awarded our largest grant to date from the LIDS Foundation, Inc., received grants from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and the Indianapolis Foundation to deliver programming for this summer, and had the most in-depth piece about Nine13sports featured in the IndyStar talking about our organization’s recent growth and momentum. Keep reading for more information on one of the most distinguished months to date for Nine13sports:
This is going to get a lot of Kids Riding Bikes. Big thanks to the LIDS Foundation for their support!
- The LIDS Foundation, a charitable 501(c)(3) organization and the philanthropic support arm of retailer LIDS Sports Group, presented us with the third place prize and our largest grant ($50,000) to date for their annual, “Tip the Hat Award.” The Foundation’s national grant program provided $300,000 in funding to five deserving nonprofits this year. Grant recipients were selected from an open call for entries, then narrowed down to five finalists and placed before an online fan vote that determined the level of grant support each finalist received. All recipients were recognized and celebrated at LIDS’ annual “Blue Carpet” awards ceremony on April 14.
- Nine13sports was also awarded grants from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and the Indianapolis Foundation to continue our summer programming with the Boys & Girls Club and Junior Achievement of Central Indiana. The grants are a part of the Summer Youth Program Fund for both Lilly and the Indianapolis Foundation and we couldn’t be more fortunate to have two esteemed and reputable organizations on board to support our summer programming.
- This past weekend, the IndyStar ran the most in-depth and enlightening piece about Nine13sports on their website and then made the print edition available in Monday’s paper. The article was tremendously well-written and talks about our humble beginnings, Nine13’s expeditious growth and development, sentiments from physical education teachers, and our plans for future expansion, among many other topics. Click HERE to give the article a read!
Coach Tom participates in a cycling session with the kids at Avon Middle School North!
It goes without saying that this past month wouldn’t have been possible without the never-ending support and love from the Indianapolis community as a whole and our numerous partnerships and relationships that we’ve developed during our organization’s short life. Words such as heartwarming and gratifying come to the mind of our staff members when discussing the passion our community has for getting more kids on bikes and showing them the value of a healthy and fit lifestyle. This past month’s achievements are yours just as much as ours and we’re looking forward to continuing to fulfill our mission of getting more kids on two wheels!