Awardees Honored for Commitment to Protecting Kids from Preventable Injuries, Number One Cause of Death to Children in the U.S.
July 26, 2023 – (Washington, DC) – Safe Kids Worldwide announced today the 16 recipients of the Safe Kids Awards for outstanding commitment to child injury prevention. The recipients were honored throughout the Safe Kids Childhood Injury Prevention Convention (PrevCon), a three-day gathering of more than 500 safety professionals who come together to network, learn, and collaborate on efforts to enhance the safety of children at home, at play, at school, and on the way.
“We all want a world where every child has a chance to grow up to become whatever they can imagine,” said Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide. “We are proud to honor these exceptional leaders for their passion and commitment to making a difference in the lives of children, families, and communities.”
Safe Kids presented the following awards:
- The Herta Feely Communications and Advocacy Award: Safe Kids Greater Sacramento/UC Davis Health for its outstanding work in communications, awareness, and advocacy.
- The Dr. Martin R. Eichelberger Community Organization Award: Safe Kids San Antonio/University Health for its unwavering commitment and dedication to the cause of childhood injury prevention.
- The Exemplary Leadership Award recognizes government leaders that inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the country to join in. It was given to the following four recipients:
- Lorena Kaplan, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- David Kelly, Vice President of Government Solutions, Accusensus
- Nicole Nason, Vice President of Federal Affairs for commercial Aviation, Sustainability, and Corporate Policy, Boeing
- Nicholas Worrell, Chief of Safety Advocacy, National Transportation Safety Board
- The Emilie Crown Child Passenger Safety Award: Denise Donaldson, National Child Passenger Safety Board Child Safety Advocate, for her tireless work to ensure families have the tools to keep their children safe.
- The Martha Collar Partnership Award: Safe Kids Greater Tampa/St. Joseph’s Hospital for exhibiting outstanding leadership and a commitment to collaboration and partnerships.
- C. Everett Koop Medal of Distinction: Dr. Dennis Durbin, president of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and vice chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics for embodying Dr. Koop’s legacy of affecting change and fighting for all families.
- The Safe Kids Champion for Children Award recognizes an individual, business, government agency, or organization that has made a significant impact in the field of child injury prevention. This year it was given to seven recipients.
- National Fire Protection Association
- Cribs for Kids
- Kids and Car Safety
- Love Like Jace
- Kiefer Foundation
- Alan Korn, Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation
- The Toy Association
- The ZAC Foundation
Every two years at PrevCon, Safe Kids Worldwide honors members of the child injury prevention community for their commitment to keeping kids safe.
About Safe Kids
Safe Kids Worldwide is a nonprofit organization working to protect kids from preventable injuries, the number one cause of death for children in the United States. Safe Kids works with an extensive network of more than 400 coalitions in the U.S. and with partners in more than 30 countries to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings, and more. Safe Kids also engages in advocacy efforts to make kids safer at the federal, state, and local levels. Since 1988, Safe Kids has worked with partners to help reduce the U.S. childhood death rate from unintentional injury by nearly 60 percent. Learn more at safekids.org.
Media Contact:
Gary Karton
[email protected] / 202-662-0630