Safe Kids Worldwide (formerly Safe Kids USA) is a global non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury through research, community outreach, legislative advocacy and media awareness campaigns. Safe Kids Worldwide has over 400 coalitions in 49 states, and has partners in over 30 countries. The proclaimed mission of Safe Kids Worldwide is "protecting kids from unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death for children in the United States." It is a 501(c) organization.

Definition of preventable injury

Preventable injuries include car crashes, falls, burns, drownings, fires, medication poisoning, and similar harms. Safe Kids addresses unintentional injuries that can result in serious disability or death.

Founding and history

Safe Kids was founded in 1988 by Dr. Martin Eichelberger, a pediatric trauma surgeon at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and writer and public relations consultant Herta Feely. Dr. Eichelberger joined with Johnson & Johnson to create an organization dedicated to protecting children from preventable injuries. Dr. C. Everett Koop served as its chairman for its first 13 years. In 2011, the organized merged with the Home Safety Council, another non-profit organization with similar aims. The current president is Torine Creppy.

Programs

Safe Kids Worldwide achieves this goal through a number of accident-specific prevention and awareness-promoting programs. Some of these programs include:

Sponsors and funding

Safe Kids work is funded by corporate sponsors who underwrite its programs. Sponsors include the General Motors Foundation, FedEx and founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson.