Nearly 600 schools nationwide to Participate

On Wednesday, October 5, Impact Lake Charles AmeriCorps, the Lake Charles Police Department, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Cancer Control and the Department of Health and Hospitals will join students at 10 a.m. at John J. Johnson Elementary in Lake Charles and around the county to celebrate International Walk to School Day. There will be more than 600 International Walk to School Day activities around the country as part of the Safe Kids Walk This Way pedestrian safety program sponsored by FedEx.  

Safe Kids Lake Charles and community leaders will walk together with children to advocate for safer walking environments for school children. Students will be chaperoned on their walk to school, receive pedestrian safety education during their physical education classes, then will be chaperoned on their walk home.

Every day, 44 children are hit by a car in the U.S. That’s 16,000 children hit by cars every year. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries are the second-leading cause of death among children ages 5 to 14 worldwide.  Safe Kids Lake Charles is working to raise awareness, promote pedestrian safety and create safer routes for walking and bicycling to school. Safe Kids and FedEx recently released an interactive infographic on the seven ways children get hit by cars. 

WHEN:     Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Pedestrian Education will take place in the physical education classes 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

“Walking School Bus” will take place before and after school; After school will begin at approximately 3:45 p.m.  

WHERE:   John J. Johnson Elementary

                  500 Malcolm St., Lake Charles, LA                                                

About Safe Kids Lake Charles

Safe Kids Lake Charles works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Its members include Impact Lake Charles AmeriCorps, City of Lake Charles, Lake Charles Fire Department, Lake Charles Police Department, Safe Sleep Task Force, Louisiana Passenger Task Force, Louisiana State Police, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, Education and Treatment Center, United Ways of SWLA, Red Cross of SWLA, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Southern University Ag. Center, Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office, Lake Charles Recreation and Parks, Imperial Calcasieu, SW Economic Alliance and Community Chest.  

Safe Kids Lake Charles is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Lake Charles was founded in 2016 and is led by the City of Lake Charles. For more information, visit safekids.org.

About FedEx

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.  With annual revenues of $58 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand.  Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.  To learn more about how FedEx connects people and possibilities around the world, please visit: about.fedex.com.