photo by: Derek Redd

Cameron Elementary students each receive new bike helmets from Cameron Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Simms, second from right, and Cameron Police Chief Shawn Allman, far right, on Monday at the school.

Every student at Cameron Elementary School will now be safer when they bike, skate or rollerblade. Thanks to the generosity of the community, all 300 received new bike helmets.

The students heard the news and received their helmets at a Monday afternoon assembly in the school’s gymnasium. The initiative came through a collaboration between Cameron Police Chief Shawn Allman and Cameron Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Simms.

Allman had visited Cameron Elementary’s Pre-K students to teach them about bicycle safety and wanted to make sure those students had properly fitted helmets. At the same time, Simms asked the school about starting a broader helmet safety initiative in memory of his sister Cathy, who had died in a bicycle accident as a child.

“We kind of sparked the idea,” Allman said, “but there have been a lot of people who have stepped up and been fantastic.”

“We have some outreach with grant programs that we use for the fire service and some community foundations,” Simms said. “So it was reaching back out to them and saying, ‘Hey, this is the plan. This is what I’m looking at.’ And they’re like, ‘How much do you want?'”

Several organizations and community members chipped in on the initiative: the Cameron VFD, T.C. Energy, Level Tech, Cameron Sons of the American Legion, Cameron Auxiliary, Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro, Arthur Oakland, former West Virginia Del. Lisa Zukoff and several anonymous donors.

Not only did each student receive a helmet and Cameron VFD sticker, but one student from each grade received a gift card as the winner of a coloring contest.

“This is overwhelming in a good way,” said Cameron Elementary Principal Catherine Folmar. “It’s amazing. The community of Cameron has always been so supportive of everything we do for our kids here at the school. For so many, not just in Cameron but in Marshall County, to come out for bike safety and helmet safety … it’s just so neat how it came together.”