Safe Kids Woodbury County Brings Lifesaving Training to Local Cub Scouts
Automotive safety patch event held at Knoepfler Chevrolet to increase children’s awareness of safety in and around vehicles
Safe Kids Woodbury County in partnership with the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Knoepfler Chevrolet are unveiling a new hands-on program to help educate 6 to 10 year-olds about vehicle safety that’s designed to help kids spot danger and keep them out of the emergency room.
“Most families know that car seats are vitally important,” said Amy Scarmon, co-coordinator of Safe Kids Woodbury County. “But children in and around cars can face dangers other than crashes. How many kids can stand behind a car before they can be seen by a driver? How long does it take for the inside of a car to reach dangerous temperatures on a sunny day? We teach these simple lessons in a fun way that can help prevent injuries and fatalities in children.”
At an event Monday at 7:00 p.m. at Knoepfler Chevrolet, Cub Scouts will complete five interactive stations in order to earn their automotive safety patch. The program covers several aspects of safety, including proper safety belt/booster seat usage, preventing trunk entrapment, teaching families to never leave a child alone in a vehicle and how to contact OnStar in the event of an emergency.
The automotive safety patch program is an important way to promote a family-oriented automotive safety experience. While the program is designed for 6-to 10-year olds, parents and siblings of the Scouts are encouraged to attend and learn as a family.
“Cub Scouts are young leaders that can take this education and apply it in their own neighborhoods to help keep themselves and other children safer,” said Scarmon. “Safe Kids Worldwide is already hearing from pack leaders and parents about how their Scouts have stopped neighbors and friends from getting into potentially dangerous situations when children are around vehicles.”
Demonstration vehicles and support for this program will be provided by Knoepfler Chevrolet. “We are proud to be involved in a program that could have such a positive impact on the children in our area,” says Gordon Pynn, service director. “Vehicle safety is a top priority at our dealership and our participation in the Automotive Safety Patch program allows us to bring that commitment directly to families.”
The new program fits right in with Cub Scouting’s goals. “All across America on any given day of the week, volunteers and parents are transporting their young boys from activity to activity,” said Tom Gilliam, Cub Scout leader. “We want to educate all of our members and leaders to help ensure our Scouts are safe when they travel whether it’s for a pack activity or a family vacation. Cub Scouting has always been about education, and we see this opportunity as a logical step in helping our boys and their parents.”
About Safe Kids Woodbury County
Safe Kids Woodbury County is led by Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City. This local coalition is part of Safe Kids Worldwide which is a worldwide network of coalitions working to prevent unintentional injuries to children ages 14 and under.
About Chevrolet
Chevrolet is America’s No. 1-selling automotive brand. With the largest dealer network in the United States, Chevy is the leader in full-size trucks and the leader in sales of vehicles priced $35,000 and above. Chevrolet delivers more-than-expected value in every vehicle category, offering cars and trucks priced from $9,995 to $78,175. Chevy delivers expressive design, spirited performance and great value with standard features usually found only on more expensive vehicles.
About Cub Scouts
Cub Scouting, the largest of the Boys Scouts of America’s three membership divisions, is a year-round family program designed for boys who are in the first through fifth grades. Serving nearly 4.5 million young people between 7 and 20 years of age, with more that 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. For more information on the BSA, please visit www.scouting.org.
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