Janice Lowe Awarded the 2020 Phil Green Award for Providing Free Bikes to Malton Students

Today, the City of Mississauga awarded Janice Lowe with the 2020 Phil Green Award. Lowe is a high school teacher in Malton. She worked to provide free bikes to students who didn’t have their own, in order to support their mental and physical well-being during the pandemic. The Phil Green Award is presented annually by the Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee (MCAC). It celebrates a Mississauga resident, group, or individual who works in the city who has shown exceptional effort to promote cycling in the community.

“Janice is an inspiration to us all. She recognized how the pandemic was negatively affecting the well-being of her students and she took initiative to fill the need she saw,” said Ward 3 Councillor Fonseca, Chair of the Mississauga Cycling Advisory Committee. “By providing bikes to students who didn’t have their own, she gave them a way to get outdoor exercise and access their community – helping them stay happy, healthy and connected. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to this incredible initiative and further encouraged our youth to cycle.”

After learning that dozens of her students didn’t have access to a bike, Lowe reached out to her network. She began collecting donations of bikes, helmets and bike locks to give to these students. She then expanded her Grow, Lead, Excel (GLE) Movement program, which she started in 2018 to support the students at her school, bringing bikes to the greater Malton community. Through donations from her network and the community, Lowe and the GLE Movement provided 150 bikes to Malton youth, teens and adults in 2020.

The Malton Business Improvement Association partnered with Lowe and the GLE Movement to distribute another 12 bikes, helmets and bike locks to the Malton community. From there, the Malton BIA started the Victory Hall Bike Shop, which helped put 160 more bikes into the hands of Malton children, youth and parents.

The Phil Green Award continues to honour Mississauga resident, Phil Green, who was a founding MCAC member and worked diligently to promote safe cycling and sustainable transportation in the city.

Tags

• Active Transportation
• Awards and Recognition
• Cycling