Special News and Events __________________________ Help Celebrate Safe Kids Day Safe Kids Larimer County needs your help to continue our mission.  We are participating in a nationwide fundraising campaign during the month of May.  Your donations will help us continue to do what we do best...keep kids safe! Safe Kids Worldwide will put 50% of your donation into research and program development with our key sponsors, Children's Tylenol, GM Foundation, and Wells Fargo, while the other 50% of your donation will remain local. Where does your local funding go?  To support families right here in Larimer County.  Our day-to-day operating expenses (safety equipment, training, etc.) is solely funded through grants and donations.  The University of Colorado Health pays the salary of the Injury Prevention/Safe Kids Coordinator and provides us with office space (computers, phones, etc.).   Our families are counting on your support to be able to provide car seats at a discounted rate (we ask for a $20 donation) to keep their kids safe while traveling on the roads to and from work, the grocery store, and to school.  Families who travel by bicycle rely on us to provide them with bicycle helmets at a discount ($5 donation) and safety presentations in schools. These are just a couple examples of where your funding will go...but know it does go back into the community to ensure we are all safe. Consider making a donation today.  Thank you for your support! http://celebrate.safekids.org/fundraise/team?ftid=23451 ______________________________________________________ 180 car seats off the market! Safe Kids Larimer County and the Colorado Children's Automobile Safety Foundation (CCASF) recycled approximately 180 car seats today that were old, expired, broken, or unsafe for children to be using.  Check your car seat today.  If it is missing any parts or pieces or is older than 6 years, please donate it to our cause...take it to the Colorado State Patrol office located at 3832 S. I-25 (just north of the Harmony Road Exit) and stack them neatly behind the building. Thank you to Nicole Teel (University of Colorado Health), Mary Marchio (Loveland Police), Laura Richardson (Safe Kids Larimer County), and Bill Flinchbaugh (CCASF) for your help today keeping our kids safe! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Strap & Snap Bicycle Helmet Program Strap & Snap is a lively, education presentation for third graders that teaches children the importance of wearing bicycle helmets.  The 45-60 minute presentations discuss the brain and how it controls our body and our senses and what it might be like if we injured our brain.  Demonstrations are done with a Jell-O brain and our friend, Eddy the Egg (with and without his helmet!).  Children learn the parts of the helmet and how to wear them properly.  To reinforce the message we distribute pledges for the students to take home and discuss with their parents. Bicycling-related injuries result in approximately 1.2 million visits to physicians and over 800 deaths each year in the U. S.  Children ages 5-14 have the highest injury rates and helmet usage declines around the age of 12.  Helmets prevent serious injuries, decreasing the risk of brain injury by 88% and head injuries by 85%. Strap & Snap was created by the Residency Program at the Family Medicine Center in the late 1990's.  For more information, contact the Safe Kids office at 970.495.7504. Click the picture above to learn more about how to keep your children and loved ones safe if you own a gun. _________________________________________________________________________________ Safety and health go hand-in-hand!  Click on the link above to learn more about 5-2-1-0! _________________________________________________________________________ New App from the American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new smart-phone application to help parents ensure that their kids are buckled up as securely as possible on every trip. The app features an easy-to-use "Find a Car Seat" checker to quickly learn what car seat is right for your child based on age, height, and weight. The app includes installation instructional videos, audio clips, recall information, and articles to help parents use their car seats safely. In addition, the app includes a full sortable product guide updated for 2013. http://bit.ly/WBCNVw Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition   Bicycle advocates and riders are needed to help BPEC educate our community and keep us bike friendly.  We provide presentations to all age groups, including school-age kids, college students, businesses, and motorists to learn how to share the road and obey the rules of the road.   If you are interested in being a part of BPEC, please visit their web site at http://bpeclarimer.wordpress.com/. NEW AAP Guidelines for Children Riding Rear-Facing http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/carseat2011.htm