Safe Kids Day: Get involved

I’m naturally a worrier. Yes, I know, the Good Book says you’re supposed to pray instead of worry, but now that I’m a parent, that’s even harder to do. I also have two boys who, like Curious George, are good little boys, but always very curious. What I generally find myself praying about is for God to give me the strength to let go and let my boys be boys – to grow up and do all the great things they were meant to do.

I’ve learned to be more relaxed. For example, I trusted that my toddler son could be left alone in the bonus room (where art supplies are stored) for a few minutes without drawing on walls and furniture with a Sharpie pen. Yet, it happened. I knew that my boys would never get better at mountain biking if I didn’t allow them to practice. They crashed into cactus while navigating some serious single track in the Sonoran Desert where we live. Despite their cuts and scrapes, I was really proud of them! Even though I know I need to let them experience various activities, I still want to place them in bubble wrap and secure it with duct tape.

Did you know that injuries are the leading killer of kids here in the United States? Each year, 9,000 families suffer the loss of a child from a preventable injury. In the United States, injury is the number one killer of kids. Around the world, a child dies from an unintentional injury every 30 seconds. Millions of other children are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime.

We can do something about this. Team Momiverse is helping to protect kids from injuries by supporting Safe Kids Day! Safe Kids Day is an awareness and fundraising initiative to highlight childhood injury prevention programs at the local, state and national levels.

How can you get involved?

Individuals, families and companies across the United States are joining in to celebrate Safe Kids Day and raise funds and awareness to protect children from injury. Here’s how you can help:

• Make a $10 donation. Your gift will protect kids from preventable injuries.
• Create a fundraising page to support Safe Kids Day at SafeKids.org. Share the page with your family, friends and coworkers and ask them to support your efforts.
• Help with a local Safe Kids Day event. Visit SafeKids.org to find a participating coalition near you.
• Host your own BBQ! Invite friends and neighbors over for some fun and food, and spread awareness about the Safe Kids cause.

Proceeds from Safe Kids Day support Safe Kids Worldwide, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing childhood injury. Safe Kids Worldwide works with an extensive network of more than 600 coalitions in the United States and with partners in 23 countries around the world to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings, traumatic brain injuries, and more.

Learn more about Safe Kids and find a coalition near you at SafeKids.org.

Charmin Calamaris

Charmin is a wife, mom of two boys and creator of the Momiverse. The Momiverse is an online magazine for busy moms (is there any other kind?) dedicated to helping moms make time – and take time – for themselves. She traded in her career in land use planning and environmental policy to become Chief Executive Navigator of the Momiverse. You can connect with Charmin in her "online office" on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

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