A house RESOLUTION

to recognize and honor Katie Blomquist, Founder and Executive Director of Going Places in Charleston, and to express deep gratitude to her for making a child's dream of having a bicycle a reality for so many children.

Whereas, in 2016, Katie Blomquist was a first grade teacher in a low-income elementary school and one of her students said he wanted a bike for his birthday.  It shocked her to learn that neither he nor most of her students had ever owned a bike. She wished she could ensure that these children would make childhood memories on bikes of their own, a wish not feasible on a teacher's salary; and

Whereas, she set out to change that and buy all six hundred fifty students in her school a brand new, high-quality bike by starting a GoFundMe campaign.  With the help of Affordabike, a local Charleston custom bicycle shop, this idea became a reality.  Her campaign went viral, and top news outlets in the country reported on it: Good Morning America, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, ABC World News, Time magazine, USA Today, the Post and Courier, and The Steve Harvey Show; and

Whereas, on March 30, 2017, Ms. Blomquist presented every student at Pepperhill Elementary School with a brand new bike, and after this successful event, she had an even greater vision to create a nonprofit whose mission would be to bring joy to children in need.  In order to focus her efforts full time on this new venture, she stepped away from teaching, and in June 2017, she started building the dream of Going Places by rallying the community around this cause and helping supporters understand the need for joy in these children's lives; and

Whereas, while many organizations focus on providing basic needs, the idea that children have a social and emotional need for joy is often overlooked.  Many children living in poverty experience stress away from school; owning a bike could give a sense of freedom and self worth; and

Whereas, one of Going Places' core values is helping children to see the local community supporting them so that they, in turn, will support the local community.  As a result, Going Places works with a local Charleston bike shop to get bikes almost at cost and supports that local business in return; and

Whereas, Going Places' goal of the "Give a bike. Give joy." program is to get every child in the district's thirty-one Title 1 elementary schools a new bike, lock, and helmet in no more than eight years and then to spread bike joy to neighboring districts and the State and become a national nonprofit. Going Places also has the program, "Give a surprise. Give joy." that spreads joy to all teachers and staff, including day porters, kitchen staff, front desk, and others who work in low-income, high-poverty elementary schools to alleviate the stress that comes from working in a Title 1 school.  In 2018, Going Places implemented the program, "Give a costume. Give joy." to collect new or gently-used Halloween costumes for Title 1 elementary children to help them build more special memories of childhood; and

Whereas, the House of Representatives values the vision and dedication of Katie Blomquist to bring joy to students in low-income schools and wish her ongoing success in the days ahead.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Katie Blomquist, founder and executive director of Going Places in Charleston, and express deep gratitude to her for making a child's dream of having a bicycle a reality for so many children.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Katie Blomquist.

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