Enbridge supports Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program
It’s training that Josh hoped he’d never have to use. It’s training his neighbors will always be thankful that he did.
Just one day after 11-year-old Josh took part in a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® in his Pennsylvania hometown, his neighbors’ young son tumbled off his bike and smacked his head on a concrete bridge support. With no adults around, and the boy’s scalp split open, Josh took charge—grabbing a cellphone, calling 911, and giving exact directions.
“He knew what to expect because of his Safety Day training,” the event coordinator later recalled. “Thanks to the first-aid session, he also knew how to stop the bleeding.
“The child needed 102 stitches—so Josh was sure a hero.”
This story, and countless others like it, have been told thanks to the Progressive Agriculture Safety Days program, operated by the Birmingham, Alabama-based Progressive Agriculture Foundation.
Since its 1995 launch, more than 1.4 million kids and adults have taken part in a one-day Safety Day event. In 2015, the Safety Day program, established to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier, continued to grow its engagement efforts, with:
- 404 Safety Day events in 35 states and eight provinces;
- A total outreach of 107,198 people, including 85,249 participants and 19,949 local volunteers;
- 82% of Safety Days held as an official school event, and 18% staged as a community event;
- 77% of the audience consisting of kids aged 8 through 13.
“I think the success of the program lies in the fact that it is organized by volunteers, and is community-based—with much of it driven by word of mouth,” says Susan Reynolds-Porter, chief executive officer of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation. “We provide a framework for delivering the program, but each community works within that framework—basically tailoring their Safety Day to the needs of the community.
Safety is our No. 1 priority at Enbridge, and the very foundation of our business. We support a wide variety of community-strengthening initiatives in the communities near our pipelines and facilities, with safety and health a primary focus area.
And last week, we announced our sponsorship of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program in 2016 in an effort to further cultivate safety education efforts across North America, particularly in the area of pipeline safety.
“We look forward to bringing our pipeline safety message to rural communities, and in particular to the next generation of farmers,” says Michael Koby, Enbridge’s vice president of safety and operational reliability.
Progressive Agriculture Safety Days are led by trained coordinators with the help of volunteer community and educational leaders—using safety-approved Progressive Agriculture Foundation curriculum. With 28 lessons to choose from, multiple topics can be included in each event, including:
- Safety around farm equipment, livestock, and grain bins;
- First aid, first-on-scene accident response, and sun exposure; and
- Safety around electrical systems, chemicals, and firearms.
Enbridge celebrated our new partnership in April with a pair of Progressive Agriculture Safety Day events in the Edmonton, Alberta area, as three dozen Enbridge volunteers helped teach 12 topics to several hundred elementary school students.
“We encouraged the kids to have a conversation with Mom or Dad—to become a safety advocate in their household, to talk about topics like home-alone safety or fire safety plans,” says John Giacetti, an Enbridge manager who helped present a session in home safety at St. Albert’s Leo Nickerson Elementary School.
“What do Mom or Dad want them to do if someone is at the door, or if the smoke alarm goes off in their house? It invites the conversation.”
(TOP PHOTO: Enbridge employee volunteers help present during a pair of Progressive Agriculture Safety Days events in the Edmonton area in April.)
