California

Travels through Safety Town

Temecula Sunrise Rotary Club and State Farm recently sponsored Safety Town, an interactive safety awareness course for children ages 5-8. This is the eighth year the nationally-recognized program has been offered in this area.

The week-long, two-hour per day classes provided a safe and fun learning environment to teach children safety principles, complete with a miniature “town” of buildings, pedal cars and streetlights. Kids maneuvered through this town and were placed in staged situations involving street, fire, bike, and water safety. Additional topics included poison and drug prevention, animal safety, “My Body is Mine,” emergency 911, and disaster preparedness.

This year, the results of Safety Town were nothing short of incredible. Attendees at the 2010 graduation ceremony were both surprised and gratified to learn that several recent “graduates” may have actually saved lives because of their training.

A French Valley resident thanked the Safety Town staff, stating that because of the water safety techniques taught to her daughter, she was able to help a child in need while both were in a swimming pool. Her daughter saw a friend sinking in the water – yet stayed calm, found a floatation device and tossed it to him to keep him afloat. The daughter and her friend were both five years old.

A second mother also shared how her two boys – both 2010 Safety Town students – came to her aid when she had a breathing emergency. Remembering their “emergency 911” training, they remained calm, sat her down and assisted her in making a 911 call.

Contributing to the 2010 Safety Town event were Agents Margaret Turner, Julie Ngo and Jerrod Novadoczky, Public Affairs Assistant Manager Camille Garcia, and Public Affairs Specialist Felicia Van Frank.

“This is an amazing program as it touches on so many areas of safety,” said Camille. “The certified Safety Town teachers also bring in policemen, firemen and ambulance personnel to provide instruction. I witnessed these kids staying focused, while still smiling and having fun. The leaders have found a way to successfully balance this important safety education while keeping it entertaining.”

With accidents being the number one cause of death in children between the ages of one and 14 years old, it’s never too early to teach our kids the importance of staying – and helping others – to be safe.