The Chattanooga Area Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers, ASSE donated 100 bicycle helmets to the Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga for their annual Angel Tree campaign. Helmets were distributed between the Chattanooga and Cleveland locations to ensure kids receiving bicycles on Christmas morning are able to enjoy their bicycle safely.
According to helmets.org, helmet use has been estimated to reduce the odds of head injury by 50 percent, and the odds of head, face, or neck injury by 33 percent. Further they state, "Almost three-quarters of fatal crashes (74 percent) involved a head injury. Nearly all bicyclists who died (97 percent) were not wearing a helmet. Helmet use among those bicyclists with serious injuries was low (13 percent), but it was even lower among bicyclists killed (3 percent)."
Many of the board members for the ASSE participate individually in the Salvation Army's campaign and understand the difficult decision individuals must make when sponsoring Angels on a limited budget. Too often a bicycle is purchased without a helmet as to fulfill more wishlist items chosen by the Angel.