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DC Children Join Children's National, Safe Kids DC, FedEx, and Others on International Walk to School Day

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, Safe Kids DC, Children’s National Health System, and other community organizations joined with FedEx volunteers at John H. Ketcham Elementary School in Southeast Washington, DC, to raise awareness about pedestrian safety on International Walk to School Day. More than 250,000 children across the United States participate in the annual event to learn safe walking skills and to encourage the creation of safe walking environments. 

“We had a great event yesterday celebrating International Walk to School Day and teaching more than 300 DC children about pedestrian safety,” said Chenille Holloman, Coalition Manager of Safe Kids DC.  “We can reduce preventable injuries by showing our children how to walk safely and recognize danger through a fun event like International Walk to School Day.”

Safe Kids DC teamed up with Children’s National, DC Department of Transportation, Safe Kids Worldwide, and FedEx volunteers to teach safe walking skills. The group conducted parent-led walking school buses, and held a school rally around pedestrian safety with remarks from the DC Deputy Secretary of Transportation Victor Mendez, and Children’s National emergency physician Alexandra Rucker, MD. The organizations worked with teachers and parents to share safety tips and demonstrate the importance of visibility and pedestrian awareness. 
 
“With more than 90,000 vehicles on the road daily, we understand FedEx has a critical role to play in actively promoting a culture of safety around the world,” said Rose Flenorl, Manager of FedEx Global Citizenship. “International Walk to School Day is one of the annual highlights of our long-standing collaboration with Safe Kids, as it showcases the passion of FedEx volunteers, safety experts and drivers for keeping our communities safe and healthy.”

In 2000, Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx created the Walk This Way Program in the United States to teach safe behaviors to motorists and child pedestrians and create safer, more walkable communities. Safe Kids and FedEx address the issue through research, physical improvements to school zones, and education and awareness campaigns throughout the year, such as International Walk to School Day.  

Earlier this year, Ketcham Elementary School and the surrounding neighborhood were chosen by a Safe School Zone task force to receive new signage, high-visibility crosswalk markings, and educational outreach at the school as part of a pedestrian safety campaign. The campaign is the result of a Safe School Zone grant of $40,000 from FedEx to Safe Kids DC for local school zone improvements, which are currently in progress. The group also committed to providing pedestrian safety education to students at four other elementary schools in the Southeast section of the District.

Contact: Caitlyn Camacho at 202-476-4500.


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About Safe Kids DC

Safe Kids DC works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability in children ages one to 19. Its members include the AAA, Children’s National Health System, and the DC Department of Transportation. Safe Kids DC is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids DC was founded in 1999 and is led by Children’s National Health System.

About Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe Kids Worldwide is a non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury, the number one killer of children in the United States. Throughout the world, almost one million children die of an injury each year, and every one of these tragedies is preventable. Safe Kids works with an extensive network of more than 500 coalitions in the U.S. and with partners in more than 25 countries to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings and more. Since 1988, Safe Kids has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by 56 percent. Working together, we can do much more for kids everywhere. Join our effort at safekids.org.

About FedEx
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $46 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.

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