ThinkFirst wins People Saving People Award

Eight Voices for Injury Prevention speakers recognized
THINKFIRST OF GREATER KANSAS CITY RECEIVES KDOT’S PEOPLE SAVING PEOPLE AWARD

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 5, 2011 – ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City, an injury prevention program for area youth, received the People Saving People Award from the Kansas Department of Transportation for the impact it has made educating young people about safety belt usage and safe driving practices in the hopes of preventing them from suffering a traumatic injury, or worse, as the result of a motor-vehicle crash.

During the 17th annual Kansas Transportation Safety Conference in Wichita, eight Voices for Injury Prevention (VIP) speakers, all with disabling injuries, were recognized for their efforts of taking their stories and lessons learned to thousands of young people annually across the Kansas City metropolitan area through school assemblies and other venues.

“Our VIP speakers range in age from 18 to 30,” said Cynthia Randazzo, president, The Research Foundation. “Who better to convince young people of the importance of seat belts, attentive driving, not driving under the influence, not speeding than someone who has to live daily with the mistake they or someone else has made behind the wheel. They truly are ‘people saving people’ in the literal sense, and winning this award is a wonderful way to honor and thank them for their contributions to injury prevention in the community.”

The People Saving People Award is open for the nomination of any individual, organization, and/or program – in or out of the state – that has had an exemplary effect on Kansas transportation safety in one of the following three ways: community leadership and engineering; education and awareness; or adjudication, enforcement and EMS response.

About ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City
ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City is part of a national, award-winning injury prevention program that teaches youth to “use their mind to protect their body.” This includes promoting seat belt usage, sports and recreation safety, helmet usage, motor-vehicle safety, water safety and avoiding violence. Established in 1987, the organization provides free school-based presentations for youth kindergarten through high school age. The programs are presented by speakers who have already sustained a brain or spinal cord injury. They are able to share first hand how these devastating injuries have affected them and their families and, most importantly, how they can be prevented. Approximately 30,000 youth in the metropolitan area hear the ThinkFirst message each year. ThinkFirst is a program of The Research Foundation, a local non-profit organization committed to enhancing health for the Kansas City community.

About The Research Foundation
The Research Foundation is a not-for-profit organization in Kansas City, Mo. dedicated to strengthening the community and empowering people to live healthier, productive lives through its health education and scholarship programs. The Harmon Diabetes Center teaches self management diabetes education to help patients control their diabetes and reduce the chance for life-threatening complications. The award winning ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City injury prevention program educates area youth through free school-based assemblies aimed at helping young people prevent traumatic injuries and deaths. The Foundation also awards scholarships to students pursuing a nursing career. For more information, visit www.theresearchfoundationkc.org.