COLLEGE STATION, Texas-- Texas ENT & Allergy, Aggie Athletes Involved (AAI) and Texas A&M Athletics, along with supporting sponsors want to encourage child safety by giving away free bicycle helmets on Tuesday, February 22 on the Texas A&M campus at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. The program will begin at approximately 9 a.m.

For the third year in a row, approximately 2,500 helmets will be presented to all Bryan ISD, College Station ISD and Navasota ISD second graders. Presentations by Aggie Athletes in sports such as equestrian, softball, baseball as well as football, City Mayors from Bryan, College Station and Navasota, and various community supporters on the importance of helmet use and safety will be made.

Hard Hats for Little Heads is a comprehensive educational curriculum involving all wheeled sports safety. The program has impacted over 6,000 second graders in this three year period and is designed to educate children about how to prevent head injuries by wearing a helmet when bicycling, in-line skating, skateboarding, 4-wheeling or any other wheeled sport.

On average, 250 children in the United States under the age of 14 die each year because of a bicycle crash. Another 300,000 children are treated in emergency rooms for severe head injuries. Many of these accidents could have been prevented if the children had worn bicycle helmets. Bicycle helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent, yet only about 40 percent of cyclists wear one when they ride. Texas ENT & Allergy, AAI, Texas A&M athletics and participating sponsors want to ensure our kids are wearing helmets when they ride, glide or drive.

Participants and sponsors of the program include:

Texas ENT & Allergy

Aggie Athletes Involved (AAI)

Texas A&M Athletics

College Station Medical Center

Texas Medical Association

Wells Fargo

AgriLIFE Extension

MSC Bookstore

Kiwanis Club