(Atlantic) The Atlantic Kiwanis Club is entering the organization’s 25th year of giving away bicycle helmets to 3rd graders in Cass County.
In 1996 Kiwanis President Steve Green noticed an ad in a magazine from Bell Helmets searching for non-profit organizations to buy helmets at a discount for 3rd-grade students living within their community. The Kiwanis bought in.
The Atlantic Kiwanis and the Atlantic Police Department partnered and started a bike safety program along with the giveaway. Green recalls the third year into the program the Kiwanis not only provided the helmets but guaranteed replacements should one get damaged in an accident. Green often tells the story of one particular incident where the program saved a child from a possible head injury.
To date; the  Atlantic Kiwanis have given away 3,989 helmets to 3rd graders in Cass County, and remain the longest-running organization in the nation for Bell Helmets, amongst 5,000 other programs just like this. The Kiwanis Club is currently giving away helmets to the CAM and Atlantic 3rd graders and the Griswold Optimist Club.