Rockwall Kiwanis awards 9-year-old $200 ‘Just Cuz Helmets Matter’

Maryann Hall, Rockwall Kiwanis Club president, presents a check to Gage and his mother, Laine Duke.

(ROCKWALL, TX – Nov. 20, 2015) The Kiwanis Club of Rockwall recently presented Gage Duke with a $200 check for his “Just Cuz Helmets Matter” program.

Gage is a nine-year-old boy who has formed a nonprofit organization to provide bicycle safety education to all bicycle riders and also provide regulation bicycle helmets to any student that cannot afford to buy one.

During his presentation to the Kiwanis Club, Gage related that in 2012 his cousin, Allen Hall, was killed in a bicycle accident. Gage was in kindergarten at the time and noticed that some students at his school were not wearing helmets and he told his mother that he wanted to give helmets to the children who did not have them to hopefully prevent the grief he and his family had suffered after the death of his cousin. He approached his school principal and started planning and in 2014, with the help of the school resource officer, he hosted a bicycle safety event. The next year he hosted a bicycle rodeo at his school, which was attended by 200-250 students and parents. During these rodeos he hands out bags with information about bicycle safety, checks helmets for proper fit and gives helmets to students who cannot afford to buy their own.

During the last bicycle event, Gage handed out 49 helmets to students. His program was recently designated as a nonprofit organization and Gage uses donations to promote bicycle safety through bicycle rodeos. He hopes to eventually help all students in Rockwall ISD. His goal is to give three helmets to each Rockwall ISD school to insure that even students in middle and high schools can receive helmets.

For more information about Gage’s program or to make a donation, go to JustCuzHelmetsMatter.org.

The Rockwall Kiwanis Club is a branch of Kiwanis International and local members are dedicated to helping the children of Rockwall County. For more information about the Rockwall Kiwanis Club, visit RockwallKiwanis.org or stop by one of their meetings. The club meets every Tuesday, from 12:00-1:00, at the Rockwall Wedding Chapel, 305 S. Fannin. All guests are warmly welcomed and provided with a free lunch.

Story and photo submitted by Christine Davis.

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