Former NFL Star Matt Ryan Kicks Off Car Safety Campaign With New 'Clifford' Book (EXCLUSIVE)
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This latest book is part of a campaign that includes car safety events for families.
Parents courtesy of Scholastic
Fact checked by Sarah ScottFact checked by Sarah ScottClifford the Big Red Dog is a staple children's book series that's served generations of young readers and families with sound advice. Since first published in 1963, Clifford, the series' title character has become a symbol of comfort and fun among simple, educational messages.Fans of Clifford near and far can get excited about a brand new entry in the series out now, titled Clifford Takes a Ride. This new adventure follows Clifford and his friends on a journey as they learn about life-saving safety tips in and around cars.This is the latest in a group of specifically tailored safety rules books for children that feature Clifford and friends–following titles Clifford Takes a Walk (about safety while crossing the street), Clifford Takes a Swim (about safety in the pool), and Clifford and the Railroad Crossing (about safety around trains and railroads).But this latest book won't just be a stand-alone release. It comes as part of a multi-state children's safety campaign, headed by the joint efforts of Scholastic, Mercedes-Benz USA, and the non-profit organization Safe Kids Worldwide. They're calling it the "Book and Safety Tour."To kick things off in an interactive way, the groups organized a community safety event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Approximately 500 YMCA campers got to hear former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan read Clifford Takes a Ride. The kids also got to meet Clifford and take part in interactive safety education stations covering passenger, pedestrian, and bike safety.Throughout the campaign, the groups will distribute 30,000 free copies of Clifford Takes a Ride to families across the country through Mercedes-Benz dealerships and Safe Kids Worldwide coalitions.
Scholastic
Matt Ryan Prioritizes Safety In His CommunityWith the Clifford books being so well-known among generations of families, former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan is excited to help bring the new story to caregivers."My wife and I especially love that the [Clifford] stories are fun and relatable, all while teaching an important lesson each time," Ryan tells Parents. "Clifford Takes a Ride makes learning about car safety easy for young kids to digest, and it has great tips for parents and caregivers to help kids understand why these topics are vital to implement in their daily lives.Ryan calls Atlanta home, which makes pouring into his community as a Mercedes-Benz ambassador easy for him."Giving back to the community, and especially to young kids, has always been a passion of mine," Ryan says. "I’m thrilled to be a part of this initiative to help spread awareness around the importance of car safety."
Mercedes-Benz
Ryan talks about his role to not only spread awareness through community events but to also continue setting the example within his own family, where he says safety is a big focus."We always buckle up properly before the car starts and make sure seatbelts are fastened, even if the car isn’t moving," he says. "We observe our surroundings before crossing the street and wait for the driver to say it’s OK to open the door once the car is parked. We follow our family car rules in every car, even if others don’t have the same safety rules."When comparing the safety measures needed on the NFL football field to the safety measures needed in a car, Ryan says both require constant awareness of your surroundings, quick decision-making, and anticipating potential hazards."On the field, you're reading defensive schemes and reacting to fast-moving plays–while in a vehicle, you’re not only watching traffic and obeying signals but also being responsible for the safety of your passengers," he points out.At the book launch and interactive safety event in Atlanta, Ryan will help to guide kids through safety lessons, including a bike rodeo and fitting for a helmet they'll get to take home. Participants will also experience a crosswalk demo to learn life-saving pedestrian skills and participate in a safety seat training."I hope that each kid leaves the event feeling more comfortable in and around cars, and equipped with new safety skills that they can pass along to their friends and family," says Ryan.
Scholastic
Making Safety MemorableAs part of the initiative, Safe Kids Worldwide's goal is to ensure kids are educated in a fun and memorable way–with Clifford being the catalyst for that."At Safe Kids, we do our best to be safe at home, at school, at play, and on the way," Torine Creppy, Safe Kids Worldwide President, tells Parents. "What do children do? They are riding, somewhere, sometime, each and every day."Creppy is proud to present the book to families, which she says the organization wrote along with the book publisher Scholastic. She hopes it can be just another tool to further the efforts of preventing unintentional injuries to kids."Whether kids are riding in a car, a bus, or an Uber, the important thing is to buckle up for every ride," she says.She lauds the interactive safety event correlating with the book launch, calling it their way of bringing the book to life for kids. She hopes both the "experience of the book" along with the Book and Safety Tour will help solidify information for families in a fun way. "To trust you with safety, people need to understand what you're saying using plain language"Torine Creppy
Creppy also praises the internal volunteer staff of Mercedes-Benz, which supports communities in Atlanta and across the country through local school systems. Through their own work with local schools Safe Kids jumped at the opportunity to work with Mercedes-Benz to, as Creppy puts it, "fill the educational gap" for what's causing some unintentional injuries to kids in vehicles.One of the challenges to ensuring families not only absorb but continue to practice vital car safety practices learned in the book is the technological advancements of cars and car seats. The advancements could provide a false sense of security in caregivers that might result in a lax approach to things like personal safety checks. Creppy assures they are staying strategic as educators by staying informed."We do extensive academic research around new technology that's coming to market," says Creppy. "We are evidence-based, not just evidence-informed. And [we collect data on] every car seat and every car make and model to give families real-time information on how they are supposed to work properly.Another challenge they face is inequities in the communities they serve. Creppy understands the importance of identifying resource and educational gaps in underserved communities, which can cause disproportionate effects."To trust you with safety, people need to understand what you're saying using plain language," Creppy notes. "They also need to know what it means to be equitable. Giving everyone a pair of shoes might be fair–but if the shoes don't fit, that's not being equitable."A third challenge–that's actually covered in Clifford Takes a Ride–is the very real possibility that caregivers will be tempted by conveniences, such as leaving your kid in the car while you run into the store. Creppy urges caregivers to resist this, saying kids shouldn't be left in the car, "not even for a minute."She also shares an acronym used at Safe Kids Worldwide to help families remember the steps to take instead: A.C.T.–which stands for Avoid (convenience that can lead to harm), Create (reminders for yourself and for kids about the rules), Take action (when you see something wrong, like a child or pet left in another car alone).Creppy says that with how easily our brains can shift to "autopilot", especially when we're in a rush, we can't afford to lean on conveniences that can lead to unintentional injuries in the car.
Scholastic
A 'Social Responsibility' to SafetyMercedes-Benz President and CEO Dimitris Psillakis tells Parents about partnering with Safe Kids Worldwide to educate families about car safety, which he calls part of their "larger corporate social responsibility mission called Driving Your Future." He sees the team-up as a natural choice due to the organization's unwavering dedication to keeping children safe in all environments.They point to internal data, stating that in 2020, 607 child passengers were killed in motor vehicle crashes and over 63,000 more were injured. This inspired both Mercedes-Benz and Safe Kids Worldwide to band together to bring safety education to caregivers nationally."We believe that by educating children and their families early on about safety, we are not only protecting lives but also fostering a culture of safety that we hope will resonate for generations to come," says Psillakis."From here [in Atlanta], our Book and Safety Tour will stop in additional communities through the support of Safe Kids Worldwide and our MBUSA employee volunteers across the country," Psillakis added. "We are committed to ongoing safety education and will continue to collaborate with our partners and engage in our communities across the country." For more Parents news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Parents.
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