Balance Bike Project

Aim

The Balance Bike Project is all about the balance bikes which we’d love to provide to all nurseries in the City of Edinburgh.

About the project

The Balance Bike Project is a continuation of our successful project, started in September 2015 thanks to the generosity of many people and funding from Edinburgh City Council. As a part of the first phase of the project we bought 80 balance bikes and introduced them to 40 nurseries in the most disadvantaged areas in Edinburgh.

Now we want to introduce even more balance bikes to nurseries. Andrew Cyclist Charitable Trust has kindly provided funding to supply balance bikes to another 75 nurseries in Edinburgh. In total, it means that at least 6900 kids in Edinburgh will have everyday access to balance bikes at their nurseries.

We would like to extend the project and raise even more money to supply balance bikes to all Edinburgh's nurseries, making sure that all kids regardless of their background have a chance to play on bikes.

We aim to place at least 2 balance bikes in each nursery in Edinburgh which means that at least 60 kids will benefit from the bikes in each nursery, every term.

The bikes which we will be providing to nurseries are brand new, and sturdy and good quality, so they will last many years. As a part of the project each nursery will also receive information on the balance bikes and what the benefits are of using them during free play outdoors. This information will be also accessible to children's parents and carers to make sure they are aware of the project and its benefits.

We will also monitor and analyse the whole project to make sure we know the outcomes and whether we can implement any improvements and help the nurseries' staff and parents.

Our vision

We would like to extend the project and raise even more money to supply balance bikes to all Edinburgh's nurseries, making sure that all kids regardless of their background have a chance to play on bikes.

We want to show kids how great it is to be outside, how much fun it can be to play on bikes and how easy it is to cycle a bike. We'd love to spread our love for bikes to all kids in Edinburgh, and maybe even the whole of Scotland, to help foster a lifelong love of bikes. 

Why fund our project?

We believe that our project will have a long lasting positive impact on children's lives.

Having balance bikes available to children attending nurseries will increase opportunities for Edinburgh's children and families. More people making more journeys by bike as a means of transport will help make cycling safer, more normal and more popular.

We also want to normalise cycling from very early on, by letting kids play on bikes and by treating bikes as part of everyday life.

We believe that offering bikes to the nurseries will help many kids to learn how to cycle a bike and get into the habit of being active and spending time outdoors, which will help them to stay healthy and reduces obesity rates.

Being active may also have a positive impact on childrens learning abilities, help focus and develop their social skills.

We believe that active and healthy kids turn into healthy and active adults.

In the long term thanks to providing balance bikes to the nurseries we will make a real difference to children and their family's life, have a good impact on local communities and also make lots of children smile.

About the Bike Station

We're a recycling charity which provides a range of services to promote cycling and sustainable transport within the community. We work with voluntary organisations, local communities, schools and youth groups providing everything from cycle training, guided rides, fleets of bicycles, training sessions and events.

We're also Scotland's largest bicycle recycling organisation. We recycle and refurbish bicycles, giving them a second life and at the same time providing affordable bikes to local people who might not otherwise have been able to afford a new bike.

All our work and activities are focused on promoting cycling and encouraging people to ride their bikes safely. Whatever we do, we don't do it for our profit.

How can you help?

• Support our crowdfunding campaign

• Spread the word, by telling your families, friends and colleagues about our project you can help us to find more supporters

• Like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter. Share our posts and retweet us

• Show your friends our website, or send them a link to this page - they might be able to help as well

Our rewards

We want to use your kind donation to invest as much money as possible into providing balance bikes to the nurseries in Edinburgh. Therefore we don't want to spend your money on marketing materials - just on the bikes - so our rewards aren't fancy. We simply hope that by donating to the Balance Bikes project you'll feel good by doing good.

This project successfully funded on 26th August 2016