The Miller School's WalkSafe program has been selected as a Back Your Block grant winner by Nike. The award, $2,500 worth of Nike products, will enable the program to provide athletic shoes for children in high-risk Miami-Dade neighborhoods with the largest number of pedestrian accidents. Winners of the WalkSafe statewide poster contest, which took place in ten high-risk counties, also will receive footwear through the grant. In addition, Nike will donate $5 to WalkSafe for each gift card bought at the Florida City Nike store.

"This commitment from Nike recognizes the service we are providing to the South Florida community by ensuring our children are safe walking on the streets," said Gillian Hotz, Ph.D., research associate professor of neurological surgery and director of WalkSafe.

WalkSafe is committed to creating safer routes for walking and emphasizes the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity for children, pedestrian safety, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

Each year, one day is set aside for International Walk to School Day to call attention to the importance of pedestrian safety. This year Miami-Dade County's school children from kindergarten through fifth grade participated in multiple Walk to School Day events on October 7 and their schools also implemented the three-day WalkSafe curriculum.