Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine talks about International Walk to School Day

Racine Children Join Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine, FedEx, We are Racine and the Racine Community Oriented Police on International Walk to School Day

More than 250,000 Students across the U.S. to Participate

Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine will join local school children and FedEx volunteers on Wednesday, Oct. 3 to raise awareness about pedestrian safety on International Walk to School Day. More than 250,000 children across the United States will participate in the annual event to learn about walking safely and to encourage the creation of safe walking environments.

 

“On International Walk to School Day, parents and caregivers both teach and model safe pedestrian behavior,” said Erin Donaldson, coordinator of Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine.  “It is one thing to tell students about pedestrian safety, but by walking with them on International Walk to School Day, we can show them proper behaviors and give them the tools to be safer pedestrians.”

 

 

This fall, Safe Kids released a report titled “Walking Safely, A Report to the Nation,” a 15-year trend report which examined child pedestrian injuries and deaths in the U.S. The report revealed that while walking safety has improved overall for children since 1995, there are still a staggering number of children hit by cars. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among children ages 3 to 14.  More than 61 children are injured every day severely enough to seek medical attention and more than 500 children are killed every year.

“International Walk to School Day is a great opportunity for students to learn how to remain injury-free as they walk to and from school,” adds Donaldson. “No child should be put in danger simply because they are walking to school or around their neighborhood.”

 

Safe Kids and Fed Ex are partnering with We Are Racine and the Racine Community Oriented Policing department to work with children from Wadewitz Elementary.  The event will begin in front of the COP House on Jacato Drive at 7:30 for parents and students of Wadewitz to learn about safety and have a light breakfast.

In 1999, Safe Kids Worldwide and program sponsor FedEx created the Safe Kids Walk This Way Program in the United States to teach safe behaviors to motorists and child pedestrians and create safer, more walkable communities.  This year will mark the 13^th anniversary of the program. Safe Kids coalitions across the country will work with over 1000 elementary schools to hold events for children on how to walk safely and recognize pedestrian dangers.

“Safety is one of our company’s core values, and we have been dedicated to improving child pedestrian safety through the Safe Kids Walk This Way program for over a decade,” said Rose Flenorl, Manager of FedEx Global Citizenship.  “Our team members work hand-in-hand with Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine to teach Racine children how to stay safer when they walk.  Safe Kids does a wonderful job in our community and we look forward to supporting them as they make walking safer for everyone.”

About Safe Kids

Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine  is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Kenosha-Racine was founded in 20012 and is led by Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.  For more information, visit safekids.org.

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.  With annual revenues of $43 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand.  Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.

About The Global Decade of Action for Road Safety

Thousands of people are killed or injured in road crashes each day, and it is projected that annual road traffic deaths will increase to 1.9 million people by 2020. To help bring needed attention to this dire issue, the United National General Assembly has declared a Decade of Action to stabilize and ultimately reduce the projected forecast of road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide by 2020.

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