Farm Safety 4 Just Kids is celebrating 25 years this year. The organization, formed out of the tragic loss of 11-year-old Keith Algreen, who suffocated in a grain wagon on his family’s farm in Iowa. Keith’s mother, Marilyn Adams, after discovering a high number of children were injured or killed on farms each year, formed Farm Safety 4 Just Kids. North Carolina’s East Duplin High School FFA has been affiliated with the program for about five years in an effort to educate children about farm safety. Ag teacher Joseph Murray explains how the program works:
“The Farm Safety 4 Just Kids presents us with information we can then take to the kids. We did a puppet show for the day care. They have a lot of folks that have done research and provided materials that we couldn’t have. They have done things that we aren’t able to, in order to talk to kids about farm safety.”
Arianna Villanueva, East Duplin student, has participated in Farm Safety 4 Just Kids demonstrations, and while she finds them fun and rewarding she sees a gap in the educational materials:
“I really like them a lot. I’m working with a friend to do a series on equine safety because I know a lot about horses, and right now that isn’t a part of the program.”
East Duplin student Emily Craft says that the hands-on demonstrations are by far a favorite with the younger kids:
“They really enjoy the hands on activities. They especially like the demonstrations that allow them to see things changing color.”
Kelsey Pate, also a student at East Duplin has also participated in safety demonstrations in schools:
“We will use a powder on our hands and say its germs. We then go and shake the little kids hands and shine a light on their hands to let them know that they now also have germs on their hands. They are then asked to go and wash their hands. After they come back, we use the light again to see how well they have washed their hands. That’s a great way to show them how dirty things are and how well they need to wash up.”
Teacher Joseph Murray says that not only is it a good experience for the younger kids, it’s also been a rewarding experience for his high-schoolers:
“The kids are really dedicated to this program more so than any other that we’ve ever done.”
To learn more about Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, visit their website at http://fs4jk.org.
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