American Red Cross Goes To Capitol Hill for Children’s Safety

The American Red Cross will appear on Capitol Hill Tue, June 5, to take part in a concerted effort by members of Congress, children’s television, the creative community and others for a historic meeting on children’s safety education.

As a member of the newly formed National Task Force On Children’s Safety, Red Cross Vice President of Preparedness and Health and Safety Services Scott Conner will join with other task force members – among who include Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk, Safety4Kids® President Tom Blair, Actor Hill Harper (CSI: NY) and Executive Editor of Parenting Magazine Lisa Bain – to discuss strategies to ensure educating children on safety remains in the forefront of the minds of parents, educators and legislators.

“More and more each day we see why it is so important that children learn about preparedness and how to be safe at an early age,” says Scott Conner. “Through our work as technical advisor for children’s shows such as SeeMore’s Playhouse and the newly released Be Red Cross Ready preparedness Web site and curriculum, the Red Cross is making a steady effort to help children be better informed and able to cope if they are in a dangerous situation.”

Chief among the goals of the Task Force is securing safe and educational places for children to visit on the web. The meeting on Capitol Hill will serve to lay the foundation for tactics and resources to protect children and help them identify media that is enriching and promotes a healthy well-being.

“Safety4Kids and The National Task Force on Children’s Safety look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Red Cross to bring quality Safety messages to children and their parents,” says Tom Blair, president of Safety4Kids.

Also taking part in the inaugural meeting, Congresswoman Mary Bono, Congressman Chet Edwards, Congressman, Luis Gutierrez, Congressman Paul Hodes, Congresswoman Diane Watson, Congressman Robert Wexler; actors Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix), Kerry Washington (The Last King of Scotland), Richard Schiff (The West Wing); and media personalities Lawrence O’Donnell Jr. (MSNBC, The McLaughlin Group) and Star Jones.

With a recent poll showing only seven percent of the nation has taken what the Red Cross considers to be the three necessary steps to prepare for an emergency: get a kit, make a plan, and be informed – now is the time for families, teachers and caregivers to utilize safe educational media tools, such as www.beredcrossready.org, to help children learn safety skills in a fun, informative and safe environment.

The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.