Safe Kids
By Chuck Welch
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It was pretty exciting that we were able to receive a grant from Safe Kids Vermont and Kohl's Department Store. We were given monies to purchase 500 bike helmets for Safe Kids Addison County, a new non-profit volunteer organization. Our mission at Addison County Safe Kids is to prevent accidental childhood injury in Addison County and to stimulate changes in attitudes and behaviors.
I think this week we have made a good start at achieving our mission. We went to five elementary schools during Safe Kids Week including Addison, Bridport, Shoreham, Orwell and Whiting. It was gratifying to see the excitement in the children at the Orwell Village School as well as the other four schools we visited as we fit them with new bike helmets and spoke too them about bicycle safety.
We offer many different programs in an effort to provide training and insight in the areas of Bike Safety, Car Seat Safety, Walking and Pedestrian Safety, Pool Safety, and Fire Safety. We currently have events planned throughout the summer including car seat inspections, bike rodeos and bike helmet fittings.
Safe Kids Addison County is still looking for sponsors to come on board and help support this program because we need to keep the wheels on the road in order to save kids lives.