The Lambton Federation of Agriculture (LFA) has made a significant donation to a proposed Lambton County Children’s Safety Village.
At its recent annual general meeting, LFA director and its representative on the Lambton County Children’s Safety Village committee, Debbie Gilliard presented committee chairperson Maryanne Buntrock with a cheque for $15,000.
The Lambton County Children’s Village committee has a goal of developing a Children’s Safety Village in Lambton County to teach safety programs to the youth of Lambton County.
The committee suggests that such a venue will enable children to learn, experience and remember valuable lessons which they will carry forward into adulthood.
Its purpose will be to teach safety awareness programs dealing with, farm safety, bicycle safety, traffic and crosswalk, first aid, fire and public safety, hydro safety, street proofing, stranger awareness, drug awareness, bulling and internet safety.
Debbie Gilliard noted that when established, the safety village will teach more than 12,000 children annually ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 8.
“This safety village will have a significant impact on the safety of our children,” said Gilliard, pointing out that the Safety Village will be an interactive learning centre focusing on safety awareness and individual responsibility aimed at reducing the number of childhood injuries on farms as well as urban settings.
She noted that statistics indicate that accidental injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among school-aged children and experts suggest that 90 to 95 per cent of those accidents are fully preventable.
“We feel that the interactive training of our children will develop a more positive attitude among them toward safety and the learning will be remembered more by each individual when practiced rather than just shown,” she said.
“After all, our children are our most important asset.”
She noted that the Safety Village committee is co-operating with local police, fire departments, Public Health organizations, public education, the Red Cross, Lambton Farm Safety Association and the Lambton Federation of Agriculture.
“That is why we really need your support to help raise the money to get this safety village built,” she said.
~John Phair~
Today’s Farmer