If you have registered for the 2019 Safe Routes to School National Conference or have been searching for insightful and relevant resources on our website, you have likely noticed by now that we have updated our brand image—and you may have even noticed a new name and updated messaging for our organization. If you have been busy working and advocating for walking and wheeling and haven’t noticed, that is just fine too. At the end of the day we like doing the work and worrying less about the fanfare, but we wanted to be sure to let you know that the new look and messaging you see is still us—we have not gone away. In fact, we are incredibly excited about our upcoming conference in November and the opportunity to share so much insight, experience, and inspiration from across the country. The program is nearly final and it is going to be awesome!
After more than a year of soul-searching, stakeholder interviews, message tweaks, many graphic designs, and future-oriented discussions about our name and core work, we decided to stay nearly right where we are. We will now be known as the Safe Routes Partnership. Safe Routes to School will still be our core area of focus and expertise, and we will remain a national organization. At the same time, we have grown tremendously in the last 10 years, and in many ways our former name and graphics were not reflecting the totality of our commitments to equity, to healthy communities, and to supporting work beyond walking and biking to school. Our new name reflects our commitment to Safe Routes everywhere, in every community.
Starting with something as simple as a shift from “walking and biking” to “walking and wheeling,” we are choosing words that better express what we believe and that support all people on their journey to health and healthy communities. With our new name as the Safe Routes Partnership we will move forward with nearly the same mission and will continue our commitment to be a catalyst for safe walking and rolling to school and in everyday life partnering with others and helping to build healthy communities for everyone across the nation.
From our early successes in supporting the establishment of the Safe Routes to School movement to our more recent efforts increasing safe and equitable access to parks through Safe Routes to Parks, we know that our bodies were designed to move, yet many of our communities were created with intentional inequities that limit mobility. We believe change is necessary to achieve a vision of safe, active, equitable, and healthy communities – urban, suburban, and rural – for everyone. We have refreshed our identity, and we remain true to our core mission. We will continue to support you in this work every day.
If you would like to update our logo on any of your websites, please check in with our communications and marketing manager, Margaux Mennesson, at margaux@saferoutespartnership.org.