Our very own Houston M. Smith is hosting a Bicycle Helmet Giveaway Safety Event on Wednesday, June 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Ben Gil park and Pavilion. We will be giving out 150 helmets to the children in our community to promote child safety and raise awareness of the the importance of wearing bicycle helmets. 

The event is made possible by a statewide effort, Hard Hats for Little Heads, which was started by the Texas Medical Association in 1994. The June 7^th event is being hosted by the Law Offices of Houston M. Smith, P.C., in conjunction with our generous sponsors, including the Texas Medical Association, Anchor Printing, First Baptist Church Terrell, Terrell Kiwanis Club, The Bismark and Mary Thomas Community Center, Renaissance Civic & Social Club of Terrell, and Target, and we couldn't be more appreciative that we found so many organizations that care about our community as much as we do. 

Riding bicycles causes more injuries to children under the age of 14 than any other activity. In fact, wheeled sports, including bicycling, riding scooters and skateboards, and inline skating, result in more than 500,000 emergency room visits a year per year in that age group.

Bicycle helmets is an easy way to help prevent head injuries, which is why we are hosting this event. Helmets will be given away on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. We will have volunteers available to ensure proper fitting helmest for each kid. 

We are also raffling off four bicycles at the event. Each child can receive one ticket at no charge until 6:30 p.m. 

Head injuries account for the most deaths and serious disabilities from bicycle crashes; hwoever, the good news is that a helmet can reduce that risk by up to 85%. Unfortunately, most bicyclists don't wear a helmet, which is why we want to equip as many children with properly fitting helmets as we can.

Hard Hats for Little Heads is supported in 2017 through a TMA Foundation grant thanks to top donors — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, an anonymous physician and spouse, TMAF Make-A-Difference donors, and the Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio — and generous gifts from TMA and TMA Alliance members, and friends of medicine.