Safety Month

June is National Safety Month; appropriate for the summer.  The National Safety Council has produced several dozen health and safety fact sheets on topics such as fireworks safety, home fire prevention and safe bicycling.  They have a whole series on agricultural safety.  There are some great ideas here to develop a community safety campaign.  There is funding out there for these kinds of programs, including our own Rural Community Grant program (applications due July 27!).  Another safety topic that would be great for a community education project is car seat safety.  UW Health produced several resources you can use to develop your own program.   

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians offers training scholarships to active members who are interested in pursuing training to advance to a higher level; that is, first responders to become EMT-Basics, EMT-Basics to become EMT-Paramedics, and EMT-Paramedics to advance their EMS education.  You can receive up to $5,000 for training costs.  This program is offered twice a year; the deadline is June 15 and the next deadline is September 15.

The UW’s Partnership Program awards grants to all types of health-related programs, including those that address safety issues in the community.  These multi-year grants are partnerships between grantees and academics at a UW campus.  Development and implementation grants are available.  The Program does a great job with technical assistance, including workshops on proposal preparation and helping applicants identify academic partners.  A letter of intent is due June 18.  This is simply a summary of your proposed program, including a description of the problem you’ll address and how you’ll address it.  If the Program selects you for a complete proposal, it will be due October 1.

The WI Department of Transportation awards safety grants in two categories: Safe Routes to School (due July 9) and Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities (due August 2).  Safe Routes programs should improve walking and biking travel options, promote healthier lifestyles in children at an early age and decrease auto-related emissions near schools.  There are funds for infrastructure (bike and walking paths) and non-infrastructure (community education) projects.  The Department is hosting a series of information sessions throughout the state in June.

Here are two funding opportunities your EMS/volunteer fire departments should consider applying to. 

  • Medtronic Foundation sponsors the HeartRescue grant program to increase awareness and education of sudden cardiac death, early defibrillation, and the need for early intervention among community leaders, first responder organizations and the public.  They give priority to programs that focus on high school-based sudden cardiac arrest education and response training.  Apply by October 15.
  • Georgia Pacific’s Bucket Brigade program helps volunteer fire departments purchase equipment and repair vehicle in communities where the company has a facility.  They’ve also produced a number of free online fire safety resources you can use for community education.  I don’t see a deadline, but winners are announced in October.  According to the website, they have facilities in Green Bay, Neenah, Oshkosh, Sheboygan and Phillips.

June 14, 2010 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Grant Advice

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