Safe Kids Worldwide to Award $400,000 in Grants to Improve Pedestrian Safety

International Walk to School Day Activities Mark 11 Years of FedEx Support of Safe Kids Worldwide

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Grants totaling $400,000 will be awarded by Safe Kids Worldwide to participants this October for its pedestrian safety program called Safe Kids Walk This Way, now in its eleventh year.  Program sponsor FedEx will provide the grant funding for local environmental improvements and recognition of International Walk to School Day.

"Improved pedestrian safety in school areas is particularly vital," said Mitch Stoller, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide.  "While most of us would expect drivers to be alert and careful in and around schools, Safe Kids research shows one out of every six drivers in school zones is distracted.  The grants we are awarding will rectify potentially hazardous situations, and we thank FedEx for its ongoing support and leadership in raising awareness of child pedestrian safety and helping provide concrete solutions."

On International Walk to School Day, Safe Kids Worldwide will join thousands of FedEx volunteers and hundreds of thousands of school children across the globe on October 6 to raise awareness of pedestrian safety.   More than 600 activities will occur as part of the Safe Kids Walk This Way pedestrian safety program.  In the U.S., Safe Kids coalitions will team up with hundreds of FedEx volunteers to teach children how to be safer pedestrians as they walk to and from school and raise awareness around specific pedestrian hazards or issues in their community.

"Safety is one of our company's core values, and we have been dedicated to improving child pedestrian safety through the Safe Kids Walk This Way program," said David J. Bronczek, president and CEO, FedEx Express.  "Our team members have worked hand-in-hand with Safe Kids Worldwide for eleven years to teach children how to stay safer when they walk.  Through expanding our environmental grants FedEx can support significant changes that will make walking safer for everyone, bringing pedestrian safety to even more of our community."

Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of death among children ages 10 to 14 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.  Each year in the U.S. nearly 250 children are killed and 13,000 treated in emergency rooms as a result of pedestrian injuries.  Between 2000 and 2009, the number of child pedestrian fatalities has decreased by 49 percent, with the 4- to 7-year-old age group showing the largest decrease (58 percent).  However, distracted driving in school zones continues to be an issue.   The most common school zone distractions are the use of cell phones, eating, drinking, smoking, reaching behind, grooming and reading.  

In 1999, Safe Kids Worldwide and program sponsor FedEx created the Safe Kids Walk This Way program in the United States to teach safe behaviors to motorists and child pedestrians and create safer, more walkable communities.  Over the past 11 years, the program has expanded to include Brazil, Canada, China, India, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines where it has educated more than 4 million children.  

About Safe Kids Worldwide

Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. More than 600 coalitions and chapters across the U.S. and nineteen member countries across the globe bring together health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments and volunteers to educate and protect families.  For more information visit www.safekids.org

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.

With annual revenues of $36 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 280,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.

About International Walk to School Day

International Walk to School Day is dedicated to walking to school with a purpose — to promote physical activity, safety, health and concern for the environment. International Walk to School Day is promoted nationally by The Partnership for a Walkable America.  www.walktoschool.org.

SOURCE Safe Kids Worldwide