EDUCATION
Buckle Bear Program

DRIVE-SMART Evergreen/Conifer educates middle-school students about seat belt awareness. These children then go out to mountain-area elementary schools and teach pre-school and early elementary school students, along with their parents, about the importance of wearing a seat belt.

Buckle Bear goes to preschools and the K-1st grades at elementary schools to emphasize the importance of buckling up.

The Buckle Bear program has 2 phases:
1. The Buckle Bear presentations at schools;
2. Employing middle and high school students as volunteers/mentors to present the program.

During the presentation, the children meet two Buckle Bears, one a lap puppet and one life-size. The program includes music, movement and worksheets, as well as weighing the children to determine the correct size safety or booster seat for their height and weight. The average presentation time is approximately 30 minutes for a group of 30 students.

Students from both Evergreen and West Jeff Middle Schools are the instructors who actually do the job of teaching the little ones. Through their mentoring efforts with the buckle-up message, the middle school students not only gain confidence but also become role models for the preschool and elementary school students.

DRIVE SMART Evergreen/Conifer thanks the Colorado Action for Healthy People for the grant that brought Buckle Bear into our lives in 1997. The grant, which provided $10,000 per year for three years, allowed DSEC to build a solid foundation for presenting this program with the schools. The Buckle Bear program is popular with teachers as well as students. One teacher stated,”(I) Always feel Buckle Bear is Wonderful! Great Job!”

Elevated Living magazine recently ran an article about the Buckle Bear program:

“Over the last 11 years, many programs have been launched according to the changing needs and audiences in our community – some focusing on preschoolers and others on teens,” said Cheryl Ladd, one of the original founders of DRIVE SMART. “The BUCKLEBEAR program especially shines, because it touches all ages,” added Ladd, who was instrumental in bringing the BUCKLEBEAR program to Evergreen and has chaired it for seven years. The BUCKLEBEAR program visits more than 1,000 preschoolers, kindergartners and first- and second-graders every sharing information about car seats and booster seats, while weighing and measuring each student for recommendations. Every child receives safety information, educational coloring books, stickers, as well as background information for parents about safety seats. Also, the teachers may receive BUCKLEBEAR posters for their classrooms and activity pages, so they can extend the program on a daily basis.

This fall, DRIVE SMART is considering launching a BUCKLEBEAR Birthday Club, so the age and details of each child is recorded. DRIVE SMART still needs volunteers to help with this project. In addition, the Evergreen/Conifer community has local “check points” where child car seats can be inspected through safety events, as well as by appointment.

“While the impact on the young children is terrific, the program’s quiet success has been its effect on middle-school students who are approaching the driving age,” said Susan Hammond, board member of DRIVE SMART and the new chair of the BUCKLEBEAR program. “We started using middle-school students as helpers, both for their enthusiasm and for their height in the BUCKLEBEAR costume. But, more importantly, their outreach helps them prioritize safety messages, as they prepare to get behind the wheel.”

In fact, the middle-school age group was chosen, when a research study by the SEARCH Institute confirmed that these early teens need to be empowered before they reach 16 years – better preparing them for safe driving. Since car crashes are the number-one killer of 16 year olds, waiting any longer can be life threatening.

Middle-school helpers, from Evergreen Middle School, Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen and West Jefferson Middle School, are trained to help the teachers facilitate the program. One student uses a BUCKLEBEAR lap puppet to instruct the young audiences about the importance of being safe passengers and to buckle up every time they are in their cars. BUCKLEBEAR also teaches the importance of sitting in the back seat and wearing a seat belt nice and snug over their hips. Another middle-school student dresses up as life-size BUCKLEBEAR and leads the smaller children through rhymes and songs. The middle-school mentors are excellent role models, and the young children become inspiration for them as future, caring drivers.

Peter, 14, will be a 9th grader at Evergreen High School. As a mentor, he teaches the kids that “buckling up is cool.” When that message is projected from a teenager, the impact is even greater on the children. “I gained a huge feeling of accomplishment, by knowing these kids will be buckled in their car seats,” said Peter. And, in return, Peter’s sense of accomplishment and commitment to safety will make him a more aware driver in just two years.

Megan, 13, is also in 8th grade at Evergreen Middle School. “As a BUCKLEBEAR mentor, I have fun teaching kids something that’s important to them for the rest of their lives. And, more than ever, I realize how much I need to know before putting other people’s lives at risk,” said Megan.

“The BUCKLEBEAR program is win-win. Small kids look up to the middle schoolers. And, the middle schoolers take the responsibility. It’s a winner for the entire mountain community!” added Hammond.

BUCKLEBEAR was started with help from a grant from the Colorado Action for Healthy People, which lasted only three years. Since then, the BUCKLEBEAR program is one of the beneficiaries of the strong support Evergreen has shown to DRIVE SMART, relying on the generous livelihood of our mountain community, its volunteers and fundraisers to stay “smart” and continue its programs.

BUCKLE BEAR IS LOOKING FOR A BUDDY

Buckle Bear needs buddies. Volunteers are requested to:
1. Assist in scheduling visits to the different schools
2. Make organizational phone calls
3. Copy, collate and package the handouts
4. Drive the student/mentors from their middle schools and high schools to the elementary and pre-schools for the presentations
5. Help the programs run smoothly at the schools

If you or your middle-school child would like to get involved, please Contact Us.

DRIVE SMART Evergreen/Conifer relies on donations from our generous community. Please contact us, either through the website, send a donation to P.O. Box 2012, Evergreen, C0 80437, or leave a message on our office phone: 303-674-9683.