Goldy the Gopher wields a school safety patrol flag in an event honoring safety patrollers earlier this month. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Caprioli, AAA Minneapolis.
Hot chocolate, University of Minnesota athletes and Goldy the Gopher are celebrating safety patrollers in Hopkins and Edina elementary schools in two events in the metro area this month.
The Minneapolis Auto Club Foundation and the University of Minnesota Gophers are teaming up for the "Day in the Life of a Safety Patroller" event for the safety patrol program, which has positioned students to help other students cross intersections for nearly 100 years.
The event ran last week for patrollers and students Alice Smith Elementary in Hopkins, and will welcome patrollers at Countryside Elementary in Edina on the afternoon of Feb. 22, according to AAA Minneapolis. The rundown includes hot chocolate and chatting with student athletes; then, the athletes and Goldy will accompany student patrollers on their duties.
Student patrollers determine the gap between vehicles to gauge when students can cross in intersections, according to AAA's school safety patrol website. The program has thousands of members in more than 30,000 schools nationwide.
Leaders and celebrities including Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden and Caitlyn Jenner were all patrol members, according to a list from AAA school safety patrol.
