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Health & Fitness

Central Road PTA Awarded Grant

Central Road PTA received a $500 grant through the PTA Take Your Family to School Week.

The Central Road PTA® is one of 100 PTAs nationwide that received a $500 grant to increase family engagement and safety awareness through PTA Take Your Family to School Week®, February 18–22.

The special week encourages PTAs across the country to open their doors to families so that they are engaged in their child’s education and overall well-being. Local PTAs host family-focused events throughout the week with an emphasis, this year, on safety at home and at play. The timing of the week—in February—honors the day PTA was founded: February 17, 1897.

“Decades of research continues to link family engagement and student achievement,” said Betsy Landers, National PTA President. “Take Your Family to School Week reinforces that link and reminds parents that being engaged is not only important during back-to-school time but year-round.”

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Central Road School in Rolling Meadows planned several safety related events for families on the evening of February 21st. The gathering began with a presentation from Safe Kids about Car Safety, Fire Safety and Poison Look-A-Likes. Then a representative from AXA Foundation presented a gift to the school. This was followed by a presentation of the Street Smarts course that is taught by the Palatine Park District. Finally, the students participated in a “REC” night of games with their parents in the gym with reminders to be safe when playing.

“We are thankful to the National PTA and AXA to be a grant recipient,” said Jen Towsey, PTA President at Central Road. “Kids’ faces light up when their parents join them at school so we are excited to plan an evening of education combined with fun.”

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In its eighth year, the National PTA Take Your Family to School Week program focuses on Safety at Home and at Play. National PTA and Safe Kids Worldwide will supply parent groups with resources to help them raise awareness of dangerous safety risks, like riding a bike without a helmet, being exposed to dangerous toxins, and not knowing how to recognize concussions. The tools will also help parent groups work with the community to demonstrate and exhibit that awareness by educating them on avoiding these dangers and incorporating safe habits, like hand washing, being safer on the playground and cognizant of traffic when riding a bike.

Parent groups will also have access to tool kits with take home activities for kids and parents, lesson plans for teachers, tips for PTAs on how to have a successful week of activities and incorporate the safety focus, as well as how to fully take advantage of the grant.

The tool kit and special week embody PTA’s legacy of building family-school partnerships to increase student achievement while keeping kids safe at all times. Each grant recipient demonstrated how they will improve family engagement and safety awareness in their school communities. View a complete list of the 2013 PTA Take Your Family to School Week Grant recipients at PTA.org.

PTA’s Take Your Family to School Week is sponsored by the AXA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, and a Proud National Sponsor of PTA.

 

About PTA
PTA® comprises of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth.

 

About AXA Foundation
The AXA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of AXA Equitable, one of the nation's premier financial services organizations and a member of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection and wealth management. The Foundation directs the company's philanthropic and volunteer activities, working to improve the quality of life in communities across the country where AXA has a presence.  The AXA Foundation’s multifaceted signature program, AXA Achievement, supports the company’s strong commitment to Corporate Responsibility and AXA Group’s flagship theme of “Risk Research and Education,” by providing America’s youth with the access and advice to help them succeed in college and beyond.  Since AXA Achievement launched in 2003, over $21.5 million in scholarships has been awarded to more than 4,800 students nationwide.  For more information, visit www.axa-achievement.com or AXA Equitable’s Facebook page.

 

About Safe Kids Worldwide
Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations dedicated to providing parents and caregivers with practical and proven resources to protect kids from unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death to children in the United States. Throughout the world, almost one million children die of an injury each year, and every one of these tragedies is preventable. Safe Kids works with an extensive network of more than 600 coalitions in the U.S. and in 22 countries to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings and more. Since 1988, Safe Kids has helped reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by 53 percent. Working together, we can do much more for kids everywhere. Join our effort at safekids.org.

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