A new mentorship program is being launched to help kids learn about the history of north Tulsa and Greenwood – while also finding out what it takes to be a BMX Champion.

The program’s called R.I.S.E., which stands for resiliency, inclusion, social awareness and education.

The hope to help shape and inspire a new generation of kids in north Tulsa, while also trying to find next big BMX champion.

20 boys and girls, aged 8 to 14, are part of a first for Tulsa will be apart of this program.

The children told FOX23 they’re really excited to be part of it.

“It’s going to be really fun and I’ll get to learn a lot of stuff,” said Emmanuel, aged 10.

“I cant wait to do a lot of new stuff that a lot of kids don’t really get to do,” said Terence, aged 10.

“I wanna turn into the first champion and I love riding bikes,” said Bristol, aged 11.

USA BMX and the Terence Crutcher Foundation are behind the program.

The program takes 6 months – in that time, the kids will get their own bikes and some of the top riders in the world will teach them.

The kids will also learn the history of Greenwood and be mentored by community leaders.

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Tiffany Crutcher is the Executive Director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation. She hopes the program will inspire the children.

“I’m really excited about the exposure that they will receive because we believe that exposure leads to expansion and that is our goal, to make sure that we create the next generation of leaders and to carve out opportunities for upwards growth and economic mobility and for them to just become successful citizens in life,” she said.

“This is so much more than just biking, we’re going to teach them about the arts, about their social awareness, about education, about resiliency, about how to even cook and receive proper nutrition if they want to continue to be Olympic athletes,” she continued.

Some of the kids will be chosen to enter the grand national BMX Championship, which is held on Thanksgiving week, and get a lifetime of free coaching.

Shane Fernandez is the president of USA BMX. He said he hopes they’ll find the next USA BMX Champion out of the program

“Imagine 5 years from now the three to five kids we can identify out of the entire group, and they make a career out of this, or all of sudden we see them at the Olympics ten years from now. I think this is going to make us proud, all of us proud. So that’s the goal, this is a blue print to success,” said Fernandez.

“We want to get them a lifetime membership, free coaching for the rest of their life here, and develop that next state champion, national champion, Olympic champion from this community,” he continued.

Tulsa is the first place in the country to do this. They want to continue this program next year and hope to expand it to other cities across the nation in the future.

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