KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – (June 2, 2011) – This Friday, June 3, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley (BGCTNV) is hosting its first annual “Summer Safety Day” from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Haslam Family Club University located at 407 Caswell Avenue.
Mayor of Knox County Tim Burchett, Mayor of the City of Knoxville Daniel T. Brown, representatives from Dollywood’s Splash Country and the Knoxville Fire Department, among other groups, will be in attendance to educate and discuss important safety precautions with families. Snacks, carnival games and inflatables will also be on hand. This event is free and open to the public.
The event will focus on water, fire and Internet safety. Because the summer months lend more time to swimming and boating, children being out of school and home more often and spending more time on the Internet, it is pertinent to focus on keeping families and kids safe during this season.
With the arrival of the summer months, water safety precautions are a must for families in America. As a Make a Splash local partner, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley (BGCTNV) is committed to providing swimming lessons and water safety classes to the youth the organization serves, in order to break the cycle of non-swimming adults and create generations of parents-to-be who will know how to swim.
Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children ages one to 14. For every child who dies from drowning, another four receives emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.
“Drowning can be prevented with education and awareness,” said Sydney Pennington, BGCTNV Aquatics Director. “It’s a little-known fact that a great number of Americans don’t know how to swim – and that’s dangerous. We’ve got to educate our youth and families on how to stay safe during the summer months.”
BGCTNV offers year-round youth safety classes, swim lessons and events partnering with the “Make a Splash” organization, which is a national child-focused water safety initiative created by the USA Swimming Foundation with the goal of teaching every child in America to swim. BGCTNV’s Haslam Family Club University is the first swim program in Knoxville to become a Make a Splash local partner.
BGCTNV has also launched a program called “im,” part of the Michael Phelps Foundation, which is designed to encourage healthy and active lifestyles for participants by offering water safety courses, recreational pool activities and swim training as well as health and wellness education. BGCTNV was provided a grant so the programming is available at no cost to the members.
Also at Summer Safety Day, Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids “Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success” program will award BGCTNV new computers. This program is a result of a $2.3 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant awarded to the C4K program in August 2010 by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.
Boys & Girls Clubs offer technology programs that develop members’ computer and Internet safety skills. Developed in collaboration with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, NetSmartz teaches Internet safety skills through engaging multimedia activities and offline interaction with Club professionals. Topics include personal safety, shopping safety and ethical use of the Internet.
For more information on Make a Splash, including downloadable water safety materials, visit www.makeasplash.org.
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About Computers 4 Kids:
Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success: Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids project is helping to prepare Tennessee’s most vulnerable youth for success by providing them with connectivity. The program promotes economic, career, and educational development through the provision of computers and broadband Internet, online technology training, career training, and community awareness that highlights the benefits of technology adoption. For more information about what Connected Tennessee is doing to accelerate technology in Tennessee’s communities, visit www.connectedtennessee.org.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley
Boys & Girls Clubs currently serves more than 5,600 members, ages 5 to 17 years old throughout the Tennessee Valley region. The organization also provides 404,401 USDA hot meals and snacks annually for members free of charge. The Clubs serve a variety of members, more than 80% of whom live with a single parent, foster parent or other nontraditional guardian. There are 16 Club locations strategically placed throughout Knox, Blount, Loudon and Northern Anderson Counties. The organization employs more than 260 trained, professional, caring staff and welcomes more than 1,200 volunteers annually. It is a charter member of United Way. For more information about the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley, visit www.bgctnv.org.
Media Contact Sarah Malak smalak@ackermannpr.com (865) 584-0550