Regional Action Teams

Purpose

In order to increase Ride Illinois’ influence and impact throughout the state, attract new individual and corporate members, expand our educational efforts, and generate additional revenue for current and future programs, Ride Illinois offers four volunteer Regional Action Teams. Members of the RATs assist Ride Illinois with advocacy, education, awareness, outreach, communication, and more!

Contact us at info@rideillinois.org with questions about this program.

Application

Click the button below to complete the Regional Action Team application and share information about your knowledge and interests.

Note that some in-person volunteer activities will involve interacting with children. For that reason, a search on the National Sex Offender Public Website will be conducted for all applicants.

RAT Application
Image collage of three images. First image depicts 5 individuals in front of a table with brochures and other educational hand outs, the second image a man and woman in front of a table with flyers, the third image a man taking a selfie with a bike

RAT Volunteer Opportunities

Ride Illinois is regularly invited to appear at community events around the state. And RAT volunteers are well-suited to represent the organization due to their familiarity with Ride Illinois and our mission. Ride Illinois shares details of future appearances with those who live nearby with the goal of recruiting a RAT volunteer to represent Ride Illinois at events.

Interested in signing up for a RAT volunteer event? Click the button below to view upcoming volunteer opportunities. Ride Illinois staff will follow up with additional information after an application is received.

RAT volunteers are encouraged to request materials, resources, and swag at least ten (10) days in advance of the the event. 

Volunteer Events

Advocacy in Action

RAT volunteers offer their time, talent, and positive energy at community events across Illinois. Click here to view photos of RAT volunteers in action.

The Four Regions

The Regional Action Teams are based on county boundaries:

  • Northwest (NW)

  • Northeast (NE)

  • Central

  • South

These four regions were determined based on Ride Illinois’ experience in the area, the proximity to cities and universities, and physical geography.

Ride Illinois reserves the right to change the regions or add regions in the future.

Map of Illinois broken up into 4 regions: NW, NE, Central, & South.

Additional Information

  • Regional Action Team members are empowered to represent and collaborate with cyclists that live and work in their region. Regions will likely have different priorities and it is expected that those priorities will evolve over time. Action teams share their suggestions and concerns with Ride Illinois staff with the goal of making biking better in their region. The following are areas of opportunity for our Regional Action Teams:

    • Encourage Illinois residents of all ages and abilities, across racial and socio-economic lines, to bike more for recreation and transportation.

    • Educate cyclists and motorists on the topic of safety by promoting and sharing BikeSafetyQuiz and other educational materials.

    • Suggest improvements to roads, trails, and other infrastructure based on knowledge, experience, and input from others.

    • Represent Ride Illinois at community events to discuss issues and opportunities for improving cycling for recreation and transportation.

    • Increase Ride Illinois membership (individual and corporate) to fund additional new and existing programs that align with our mission.

    • Assist Ride Illinois with event planning, outreach, and collaboration.

  • Ride Illinois knows that diversity will increase the effectiveness of the Regional Action Teams. Ideally, our action teams will include members of different ages, genders, races, ethnicities, abilities, and socio-economic status. Diverse, collaborative, energetic teams will result in better outcomes from this state-wide program!

    Each Regional Action Team will consist of the following:

    • A current Ride Illinois board member

    • Several individuals who live in the region they represent

    A Chair of each action team may be chosen by other action team members or appointed by Ride Illinois. The Chair may facilitate meetings and/or provide updates for the quarterly Ride Illinois board meetings.

  • Regional Action Teams will meet every other month, but can meet more frequently if need be. Meetings will take place virtually via Zoom or Google Meet. Ride Illinois staff will assist with scheduling meetings and will attend meetings as their schedules allow.

    Communication outside of meetings between action team members and Ride Illinois staff is strongly encouraged to build rapport, share ideas, and proactively address issues.

  • Funding for Regional Action Team activities and appearances is included in the Ride Illinois annual budget. Ride Illinois staff oversee the budget with the explicit goal of improving the impact of this volunteer initiative.

    Corporations interested in providing funding to support our Regional Action Team program should contact us at info@rideillinois.org.

  • Conflicts of interest occur when Regional Action Team members are in a position to influence a decision on policy or purchases where they might directly or indirectly receive financial benefit. Action team members must be mindful of this and agree to abide by the policy.

    Ride Illinois has the authority to remove an individual from an action team if a conflict of interest is observed or confirmed.

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