SAFETY EDUCATION

Well... the 2000-2001 program year is finished and we are excited to announce that almost 20,000 children participated in Safety City programs this year! We were very happy to make visits to a few new faces this year, too. Some of the folks we had the opportunity to visit for the first time include Carmangay School, Champion School, St. Catherine's School in Picture Butte, the Cardston 4H Club, Coutts School, Discovery Nursery School, and Opokaa'sin Early Intervention Society.

May and June saw the first ever visitors to Safety City for Bicycle Safety. Although our "city" was not quite complete, we were still able to offer lessons in basic bike skills like straight line riding, stopping, shoulder checking, and signaling. From the responses we've received, a good time was had by all and the students may have even learned a thing or two! (Check out page 2 for some of their comments.)

Our big thanks to Tim Hortons and Bert & Mac's for providing the Bicycles and Helmets that made our program a huge success. Not only were the helmets and bikes practical, but they were way cool! Just ask the kids who came to Safety City.

The finish line is in sight....

According to Joe's latest list the items left to complete on the Safety City site include line painting, installing the traffic lights and signs, completing the curbing, and the landscaping.

We are so thankful to the community for all of the support in our building projects. Some funding is still required and volunteers would make a big job a lot easier. Just a little further to go... if you can help us in any way, please give Patti a call at 317-1955.

Speaking of volunteers...

A huge thank you to Bryan Magyar for taking care of our lot and weed control. We really appreciate your effort Bryan!

Our first "WORK BEE" was held on Saturday July 21 to clean up the site for line painting and work on the concrete curbing. Our volunteers went away tired, but well-fed and watered. Watch for more of these volunteer opportunities throughout the summer!

Here's what some of our participants had to say (and draw) about their visit to **Safety City!

"Thank you very, very, very much!' - Moira

"I hope next year I come so I can ride around those blocks and lights." - Christine

"I know that I should always always always wear my helmet, even if its to go down the street." - Stacy

"Thank you for showing us how to wear our helmet right. Thank you for letting us watch a video. Always get off your bicycle before you cross the road." - Tanner

"I really liked the bike riding. I liked even more the video but I wouldn't want that to happen to me so I always wear a helmet." - Jeff

"Thanks Safety City. I really had fun today at your station. I thought the movie was rather interesting and the slides that showed what to do on your bicycle interesting too. I had lots of fun on those bikes outside. I don't do stuff like that very often and I needed some practice. All in all I had lots of fun." - Alistair

Unintentional injuries in Canada cost more than $8.7 Billion annually?
Check out the "Economic Burden of Unintentional Injury in Canada" report on the Smartrisk Foundation website: www.smartrisk.ca.

Safety City: "Reducing Childhood injuries through safety education."