Got helmet?

Posted on October 25, 2014August 28, 2015 by PN2K Team

October 24-25, 2014: Family Day Weekend, PN2K helmets fundraiser

In memory of Kyaw and to support bike safety, “PN2K Kyaw helmets” were available at MIT from 11-5 PM. Over the course of two days, about 52 helmets were distributed, raising $1040.

What interested me the most was how I had a front seat towards witnessing some of the greatest outpouring of care from the community - from parents buying helmets for their kids, to students buying helmets for their friends. Strangers were helping others make sure the helmets fitted correctly. Kids became intrigued (better to teach bike safety when they're young and easily impressionable!). Even Tim the Beaver gave us the thumbs up on bike safety!

[Left] Will, MIT student, picking up a helmet with his family, and an extra one for his friend Carlos [Middle] MIT community (strangers) helping each other to make sure the helmet is fitted appropriately and adjusts easily [Right] me and TIM! Thanks TIM for your unwavering support!

Thanks everyone for keeping not only yourself safe but thinking of those you care about around you and helping them to protect their noggin. 'Til next time!

Link to Family Day Weekend PN2K helmets fundraiser photo album

Got bike lights?

Posted on May 29, 2014August 28, 2015 by PN2K Team

FREE bike lights – tonight, 8 PM on the corner of Mass Ave & Vassar Street. Christina Clarke Genco Foundation totally made it happen and they were kind enough to invite us along.

The point was to increase road safety on Massachusetts Avenue by installing free bike lights for cyclists riding past with a missing front light, back light, or both. We waved them down, yelled “free bike lights!”, chased them down until they were visible (ok, maybe not the latter), but the idea was to get everyone more visible and, thus, safer.

What I learned? There are probably some fascinating psychological social experiments that could be conducted here, probably around the idea of studying the differences between diverse cultural and social perceptions cyclists have without lights. While the vast majority of cyclists were thrilled to have lights (“Free bike lights? Heck yeah!”), even wondering if this were too good to be true (“Really, free bike lights? What’s the catch?”), there was an occasional odd occurrence of a cyclist momentarily hesitating before shaking his* head and leaving the scene without any added visibility (*most, if not all, of these incidences occurred with males, but then again, the sample size probably was not large enough to draw any significant conclusions about male vs. female nighttime negligence).

So, this brings up the question: When cyclists knowingly cycle without lights, what would their mode of thinking and rationale be, given that they are not price-sensitive (i.e., “free” is not a strong enough enticement)? Maybe they think:

– “Oh, these will just get stolen anyway”
– “Free? No such thing.” *pedals away in denial*

At any rate, more of these bike light giveaways can only be beneficial right now. Here’s to saturing this city in blinking red and white!

Link to bike lights giveaway with CCG & PN2K photo album

Pizza for PN2K

Posted on May 15, 2014May 16, 2017 by PN2K Team

For the first time ever, PN2K is partnering up with Kendall Bertucci’s for a Dine for Dollars Night, this coming Wed, May 21st. Bring the coupon below with you to Bertucci’s in Kendall. If you order take out/delivery and tell them about PN2K, 15% of what you pay for will go towards buying bike lights, helmets, and other bike safety equipment for the MIT community. Treat yourself to a good meal and support a good cause while you’re at it!

And of course, a BIG thank you to Bertucci’s for making this event possible!

Cat is out of the bag

Posted on May 14, 2014August 28, 2015 by PN2K Team

Finally, PN2K makes its first public appearance!

On Wednesday, May 14, we worked with Robynn from the MIT Parking and Transportation Office and received their blessing to move forward with setting up a table for PN2K during their Bike Awareness Day event. So from 11 AM - 2:30 PM on MIT's Student Center Plaza, Juan from Sigma Nu (Phyo's former fraternity) and I were out there handing out fliers, bags of chips (courtesy of Star Market) and getting the word out about PN2K and our intentions for setting up an MIT chapter (MIT PN2K) as we hope to establish a presence at MIT focused around bike safety.

During this event, many cyclists brought over their bikes for registration, receiving minor bike repairs, winning bike-related giveaways, and enjoying refreshments (popcorn!), and T-shirts, courtesy of MIT Parking & Transportation's Commuter Connections. In the end, MIT logged 7,037 miles, pushing it into first place as the winning school for the Masscommute Bicycle Challenge 2014. Very well-organized, and it is exciting to find that the interest (and community support) are definitely there!

Bike Awareness Day full photo album

PN2K Achievement Award 2014

Posted on May 10, 2014August 28, 2015 by PN2K Team

PN2K ANNOUNCEMENT: A big CONGRATULATIONS to LUCIE SANON, recipient of the 2014 PN2K Achievement Award, and first girl in her family to attend college! This award includes a $500 check written out to Lucie that will go towards her college expenses.

The Award, set up in memory of Phyo, is presented to an Achiever to continue encouraging him/her to pursue college and cover educational-related expenses. Candidates are assessed along the following criteria: dedication, potential, vigor of character as demonstrated through scholarship and athletics, commitment.

Lucie Sanon (left), PN2K Achievement Award recipient with Ye Yao (right), PN2K Foundation Co-Director

Lucie: We welcome you into our PN2K community with wide, open arms. We are proud of your achievements, but most of all, we are very proud of YOU for your dedication, commitment, potential to overcome life’s obstacles, and vigor of character as demonstrated through your improvement in academics and rowing.

Rock on, Lucie!

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If you are an Achiever of Amphibious Achievement, you might be eligible for the annual PN2K Achievement Award. Check out our website for more info (www.pn2k.org) and make sure you don’t miss our Spring application deadlines.

Where did the $500 come from?

From the erg-a-thon fundraiser organized by Amphibious Achievement on Thursday, April 17, 2014, $500 of the total raised was allocated towards The Phyo Nyi Nyi Kyaw Achievement Award, a joint scholarship award made possible in 2013-4 through the collaborative efforts of MIT Amphibz and PN2K.

[Video] Bike Safety Movement

Posted on May 10, 2014August 28, 2015 by PN2K Team

In preparation for the Masscommute Bicycle Challenge (May 10 – 18)

A tremendous thanks to Will Beale in Malaysia, Diana Birdsall from the US, and Shorts And Sweet Productions for working with us on such a tight deadline and producing this amazing video!

Stop by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Stratton Student Center Plaza on Wednesday, May 14 from 11 AM – 2:30 PM and celebrate Bike Awareness Week with PN2K and MIT Parking and Transportation Office. You will have the chance to register your bike, receive minor bike repairs, win bike-related giveaways, and enjoy refreshments, courtesy of MIT Parking & Transportation Office. See you there!

Erg-A-Thon!

Posted on April 17, 2014August 28, 2015 by Ye

As I came out of the MIT Z-Center this afternoon, I caught sight of a huge tent with a multitude of ergs all lying parallel along the length of Kresge lawn. Of course, this would be the much anticipated MIT Erg-A-Thon from our partners, MIT Amphibious Achievement!

This Erg-A-Thon runs from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM and is AA's annual fundraiser, except that this year, we managed to work with co-founder Noam Angrist in 2013 as well as current co-president Alice Huang to make something additionally special happen: Noam mentioned they had toyed with the idea of creating a scholarship to be awarded to one of their high school mentees (called "Achievers") on an annual basis. The idea of attributing a scholarship in memory of Phyo (who was a mentor for Amphibious Achievement) was perfect - The scholarship would embody Phyo's spirit of teaching, growth, and scholarship for youth.

So, this year, when you contribute to the MIT Erg-A-Thon, 10% of up to $5000 raised will go towards a PN2K $500 Achievement Award. This $500 fund will be granted to a graduating Achiever to support her/his aspirations through higher education.