Be a Community Safety Volunteer

Mission Statements

Community Traffic Safety Program To reduce injuries and deaths on our roadways--the number one killer of people aged 1-34 (Center of Disease Control 1998), over AIDS/HIV/Diseases like cancer or heart disease or intentional gun violence. This program is a community outreach education and awareness program through the College of Agriculture Sciences Cooperative Extension Office and the Delaware Office of Highway Safety. There is a Coordinator for the Community Traffic Safety Program in each county of the state. The focus of the programs is occupant protection (car seats, seat belts and airbags), bike safety, pedestrian safety and prevention of underage drinking or drinking and driving.

SAFE KIDS Coalition To prevent and raise awareness of unintentional injuries to children from birth to 14. Unintentional injuries are the number one killer of children 14 and under. The number one unintentional injury to children is motor vehicle crashes. There is an active coalition in each state including Delaware which has three active chapters in each county of the state. We are interested in supporting legislative bills in Delaware that will improve highway and child safety.

A Brief History

The Community Traffic Safety Program is coordinated through Cooperative Extension and the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and has been in existence since 1996. These programs are supported with grant money from the Office of Highway Safety which receives federal funds from the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st century (TEA-21) which is voted on every 6 years the current act was passed in 1998 and supports state highway safety programs designed to reduce traffic crashes and resulting deaths, injuries and property damage each year till 2003.

The Delaware SAFE KIDS coalition is a statewide grassroots movement to fight unintentional childhood injuries. The state coalition is part of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign which has coalitions in all fifty states. The Delaware SAFE KIDS Coalition began in 1989.The Delaware SAFE KIDS Coalition's Vision Statement is "Injury Free Life For All Children".

Volunteer Opportunities

We need volunteers year-round to:

• help at child safety car seat checks
• disseminate information about safe and sober family holidays
• distribute holiday tree tags to local nurseries with safety messages
• distribute bike helmets through the Delaware Bike Helmet Bank
• educate high school students, parents and faculty about the issues surrounding underage and binge drinking
• educate the community about the zero tolerance law for drivers under 21 years of age

Special Events

• Annual SAFE KIDS Days in May and August bring attention to the issue of unintentional injuries.

Requirements of Volunteers

A successful Community and Traffic Safety volunteer is:

• interested in promoting traffic and child safety
• able to find transportation to events
• willing to represent our organization at a wide variety of community events and institutions
• interested in writing letters or speaking to legislators on behalf of traffic and child safety issues

To apply, email your Name, Address, and Daytime Phone Number to Cindy Genau, or phone her 302-831-4973.

Cindy Genau | Programs | NCC Home

Copyright © 1997-2003 NCC Cooperative Extension. Last revised July 13, 2004.