Partnerships…

…a good thing to be writing about on Valentine’s Day. I guess you could say I am the Safe Routes Partnership’s resident matchmaker. While I can boast of several marriage outcomes from my partnership recommendations over the years, my role here at the Safe Routes Partnership has yet to involve dating suggestions.

Instead as development director I have the pleasure of creating mutually beneficial partnerships with our supporters. Our organization was founded on the idea of partnerships, on the notion that Safe Routes to School is a collective resource for communities and in bringing together transportation, health, education, social justice, environment and law enforcement sectors we can create safer streets, improve communities and promote physical activity for children and their families. We continue to support the work of our partner affiliates and build new partnerships with our foundation, corporate and individual supporters so that we can impact the policies and programs that support our vision of safe, convenient and great places for children to ride and walk to school and throughout their daily lives.

It is that collective force of our nearly 600 partners that has amplified the call to action to continue Safe Routes to School. From American Heart Association and American Public Health Association advocates, to hundreds of local advocacy organizations, to companies like Eastern Mountain Sports and Kaiser Permanente, our partners have made a major difference in the last few days as we crescendo our grassroots advocacy efforts to ensure Safe Routes to School and active transportation is a part of our next federal transportation bill.

We welcome others to join with us – becoming a partner affiliate is free and simple. I look forward to sharing more in my blog posts about amazing work with our partners and new corporate partnerships we are forging with businesses that share our values of promoting physical activity and wellness for children and families throughout the country. Don’t hesitate to drop me a line about working together: beth@saferoutespartnership.org.