Athens, Ga. (Feb. 9, 2023) – April Dorsett, RN, BSN, a Piedmont Athens Regional Community Education Nurse and Safe Kids Athens Coordinator, has been recognized for Excellence in Coalition and Partnership Building by Safe Kids Georgia.
According to Safe Kids Georgia, each year more than 8,000 children die from preventable injuries. Safe Kids Athens Coalition is one of many in Georgia that focuses on injury prevention, enforcement, and safety equipment for children from birth to age 19. Safe Kids coordinators provide education on vehicle and road safety, home safety, fire safety, sports and wheeled sports safety, pedestrian safety, and water safety. The coordinators also collaborate with state and local law enforcement, fire departments, first responders, and school systems, to name just a few, to provide safety training and equipment to families.
In 2022, Dorsett worked with the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department to teach fire safety to more than three thousand elementary school students in Athens-Clarke County schools and Oconee County schools and another two hundred students and families at the Athens-Clarke County Library Family Fun Day. She provided car seat instruction and installation training to more than 80 families through the Athens YMCA. Dorsett taught bike and pedestrian safety to over 30 children from low-income Athens neighborhoods. In addition to safety training, the children received appropriately sized bikes and helmets through Safe Kids.
Over the course of the year, Dorsett partnered with law enforcement and the Oglethorpe County Schools to teach the "Teens in the Driver’s Seat" program. The course was again taught at the FCCLA State Leadership Conference, where more than 300 teens received safety instruction and training. Oglethorpe County elementary school also held a car seat safety check and community car seat installation day, which assisted more than 250 participants.
Other partners Dorsett worked with in 2022 include the Athens-Clarke County and Oconee County Sheriff Offices, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the Oconee County Fire Department, the Athens Twilight Criterium, and the Kirby Smart Family Foundation.
Read more information on Safe Kids Athens.