Mile 10 Campaign - BikeWalkKC Celebrates its 10th Anniversary!
This year, we celebrate our 10th anniversary! BikeWalkKC was officially launched in April 2011 as a nonprofit organization with a mission and purpose to serve the bi-state Kansas City-metro area. We were Kansas City’s first professional advocacy and education organization dedicated to bicycling and walking.
As detailed in our first Mile 10 blog post, BikeWalkKC started out with just a handful of volunteers, a few small grants, and boundless determination. Over the last decade, we’ve developed in-demand programs, grown our membership, attracted new partners, and established ourselves as leaders in the field of bicycle and pedestrian education and advocacy.
Notes from Mile 1: BikeWalkKC’s First Full Year
With articles of incorporation in hand, BikeWalkKC’s staff and board members hit the ground running. They needed to raise matching funds required by the start-up grant from Advocacy Advance.
Two major initiatives were launched as a result:
- The first Tour de Bier (then called “Tour de Brew”) was held in May 2011, with 560 cyclists pre-registered, and more than 200 walk-ups on the day of the event. The event raised the funds required to match Advocacy Advance’s start-up grant.
- BikeWalkKC launched its first youth education programs, serving nearly 1,000 kids in the urban core and first-ring suburbs. Since then, we have served 30,000+ kids in 11 school districts. Want to bring BikeWalkKC to your kids’ school or after-school activities? Click here to learn more.
Other fun facts from 2011:
- BikeWalkKC’s brand identity was led by 360 Architects (now a part of HOK).
- Our very first members signed up that year - many are members still today!
- Kansas adopted the Three Foot Passing law in July.
- BikeWalkKC won a Philly Award for its first marketing efforts. In 2019, we won again, along with KCATA and the Kansas City Streetcar, for the PrideKC campaign partnership.
These milestones and accomplishments in BikeWalkKC’s first full year prepared the organization for even greater growth and success for Mile 2 of its journey in 2012.
Mile 10 gift opportunity!
Make a gift today for a more inclusive cycling community! Your gift of $10 or more will help provide scholarships to people from under-represented communities who want to become certified League Cycling Instructors (LCI). LCI ambassadors are role models who teach riding skills, safety, and confidence to new generations of cyclists.
BikeWalkKC serves as a host site for LCI training. To ensure equity, access, and diverse representation, we will offer partial or full scholarships to Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Your gift will help fund these scholarships (up to $500 each) and will help cover the costs of onsite childcare for LCI trainees.