Schoolchildren in Kentucky will soon learn the lifesaving message of the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program. The Eddie Eagle staff, in conjunction with the Jefferson County Sheriffs' Office, will be presenting the award-winning program to children in several elementary schools in the Louisville area from Monday, May 12 through Wednesday, May 14.
Eddie Eagle is a firearm accident prevention program designed for children from pre-kindergarten through the third grade. The program teaches children safe and effective actions to take if they find a gun: "If you see a gun: STOP! Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult." Now in its 20th year, the program has reached over 21 million children nationwide.
Since the Eddie Eagle program's inception, over 334,000 Kentucky children have been taught its lifesaving message. Many of the program's activities, such as providing free curriculum materials for Eddie Eagle instructors, have been made possible through funds raised by Friends of NRA and grants distributed through The NRA Foundation.
"We are excited to have a special visit from the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program in our elementary schools," said Deputy Butch Winstel of the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office. "Gun safety is an important lesson to instill into the minds of our youth, and the program's overall presentation, from the comic books to the video to the Eagle Shuffle dance, really gets the point across to the children about what they should do if they see a gun."
Accidental deaths with firearms have been decreasing for decades and are now at an all-time low among the U.S. population. Among children in the Eddie Eagle age group, fatal firearm accidents have been reduced more than 80% since the program's nationwide launch in 1988. The NRA feels that firearm accident prevention programs such as Eddie Eagle are a significant factor in that decline.
The program was created by past NRA President, Marion P. Hammer, in consultation with law enforcement officers, elementary schoolteachers, and child psychologists. It has been endorsed by the Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention (within the U.S. Department of Justice) and has been praised by a host of national and community organizations, governors, and state legislatures for its effectiveness.
"The steady decline in the number of firearm-related accidents among young children since the launch of the Eddie Eagle program is a testament to the program's effectiveness, and to the 21 million children we’ve been able to reach," said Kayne Robinson, Executive Director of NRA General Operations. "The history of this program is filled with stories of children who have avoided firearm accidents because they were exposed to Eddie Eagle's live-saving message."
The NRA encourages citizens nationwide to participate in heightening firearm safety awareness within their local communities. For more information about the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, call NRA's Eddie Eagle Department at (800) 231-0752 or visit www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie. Eddie Eagle will also be making public appearances at NRA's 137th Annual Meeting and Exhibits to be held May 15-18 at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville.
THE EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE® PROGRAM
SCHEDULE OF SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES
- Blake Elementary
Monday, May 12, 2008
1:00 PM
- Fairdale Elementary
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
9:30 AM
- Hartstern Elementary
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
1:00 PM
- Evangel Christian School
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
9:30 AM
- Gutermuth Elementary
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
1:30 PM