This article was contributed by Samela Perez with San Benito County Public Health Services.
Over 100 students, parents, teachers, law enforcement staff and Safe Kids Coalition members walked to Sunnyslope School Wednesday, Oct. 10 in celebration of International Walk to School Day; an event hosted by Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx in an effort to create local and national attention to pedestrian safety issues.
“Celebrating this day is way to raise awareness of the importance being safe while walking to and from school campuses” stated Ofelia Toledo-Prieto, coordinator of the Safe Kids Coalition of San Benito County.
Students walked in the morning wearing shirts highlighting the event provided by Safe Kids Coalition and carried signs promoting pedestrian safety messages. All walkers were then were treated to a healthy breakfast provided by Hollister School District.
“Events such as this one bring us all together to help share healthy life styles with our kids. We continue to find fun, happy events to pass healthy messages around our community”, said Ann Pennington, director of student nutrition for Hollister School District.
Every day, more than 40 children are hit by a car in the United States. That’s more than 15,000 children hit by cars every year. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries are the second-leading cause of death among children ages 5 to 14 worldwide. Safe Kids Worldwide raises awareness, promote pedestrian safety, and create safer routes for walking and bicycling to school.
About Safe Kids Coalition of San Benito County
Safe Kids Coalition of San Benito County is dedicated to preventing unintentional childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Its members include California Highway Patrol, Hollister Recreation, Hollister Police and Fire, Public Health, Council of Governments, Youth Alliance, First 5, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and local businesses. New members are always welcome. For more information on Safe Kids Coalition of San Benito County, call (831) 637-5367 or visit www.safekids.org.
