Faces of Loved Ones We Run to Remember - Live Forward!

Here are the faces of many of the loved ones we Run to Remember. Add your support today and receive one of 1,412 "Thank You Notes" 

Visit KKAD25 Run to Remember

Live On In Our Love

Shannon Lloyd, Age 7, Omaha, NE 

Shannon's dad is the first parent of one of the loved ones we honor to join our Run to Remember Team

 

Elijah "Batman" Alvitre, Age 3, Salinas, CA

Christopher Starr, Age 8, Unionville, IA

 

     Click logo for Katie's Site

Katie DeCubellis, Age 13, Narragansett, RI

Kayden Hope Fronterhouse, Age 1, Bristow, OK

Nikki Kellenyi, Age 18, Sewell, NJ

Bryn Dirkschneider, Age 16, Fremont, NE

                                    

Alexa Johnson, Age 19, Loveland, CO

Tiffany Walters, Age 17, Meridian, ID

Bobby Rogers, Age 16, Meridian, ID

Jason A Von Tersch, Age 29, Omaha, NE

Tim Hill, Age 12, North Las Vegas, NV

Tamara, Tim's mom, runs races in his honor 

in support of 

"Run to Remember"

Ashley Smith, Age 17, Scotrun, PA

Andrew "AJ" Brumback, Age 8, Westminster, CA

Maddison Hart, Age 5, Sikeston, MO

Johnny Little, Age 8, Saginaw, MI

Brandon Bruggeman, Age 13, Carroll, IA

Steven Dennis Schult, Age 21, Valley, NE

Nikki Simonson, Age 5, Phoenix, AZ

Shaye Martin, Age 8, Doral, FL

Anna Diffenderfer, Age 2, Perkiomenville, PA

Kylie Remmereid, Age 16, (With Kasey, her sister) Bennington, NE

Aaron Brock, Age 7, Haughton, LA

Erika Kelly Anstett, Age 20, Redford, MI

Erica Forney, Age 9, Fort Collins, CO

Stephen Schroder, Age 10, Fort Thomas, KY

Emily Ranyak, Age 18, Merritt Island, FL

Zak Bruce, Age 17, LaVeta, CO

Ashley Steffan, Age 17, Waukesha, WI

Kyle Foster, Age 10, Mesquite, TX

Cady Ann Reynolds, Age 17, Omaha, NE

Justin Faust, Age 9, Lees Summit, MO

Erika Joy Rowan, Age 16, Cozad, NE

Matthew "Matty" Waldrup, Age 7, Avon Park, FL

Christopher Lantz, Age 19, Bennington, NE

Nadia Chowdhury, Age 20, Naperville, IL

Mikey Rice, Age 20, Omaha, NE

Gabby Mair, Age 12, Deltona, FL

James Davis, Age 29, White Bear Lake, MN
(James is the inspiration for It's Not A Race! Create Space®)

Anthony Henry, Age 14, Yardville, NJ

Stephen Moeller, Age 17, St. Louis, MO

Brandon McPherson, Age 16, Weatherby Lake, MO
(Donated 14.5 inches of his hair to Locks of Love shortly before he died)

Natalie DeLeon, Age 21, Springfield, MA

Conor Lynch, Age 16, Van Nuys, CA

Kyle Clark, Age 16, Wahoo, NE

Members of our 2011 Run to Remember Team on the 

Summit of Pikes Peak

Show your support today at KKAD25 Run to Remember

Thank you! You generous giving keeps kids living.

www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

Maplewood NJ Kicks Off Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Day

Following are photos from the Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Kick-off in Maplewood, NJ.  To find out how to get started in your community, visit KKAD25 Start-up

1,412 Thank You Notes to Keep Kids Alive

Dear Friends in Traffic Safety,

“Just because a loved one has taken their last breath does not mean they cease to live.” Recently I heard a speaker say just this. It gave me cause to pause, and to realize that this truth applies to every family whose loved one has died in a traffic incident.

Every family who has experienced the death of the daughter, son, brother, sister, mother, father hopes that the life and love they shared will continue to influence and bring life to others. These are the loved ones our Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Run to Remember team treks up Pikes Peak in memory of each year. In this our 6^th year, for the first time, the father of one of these loved ones will join our team for the Pikes Peak Ascent Trail Race on August 18^th. To date 54 families have asked that we run to remember their loved ones. We have special t-shirts created that bear the names, ages, and hometowns of each of these loved ones. We wear these as step-by-step we take on a trail with a 7,815 elevation change up Pikes Peak in Colorado. We send shirts to all loved ones’ surviving family members to wear in solidarity with us on the day of the run. Quite often people will ask these family members about their shirts, which gives permission to share the story of the life and love their loved one shared, and continues to share, with so many.

What do these loved ones have to do with 1,412 “Thank You Notes”? Simply put, one goal of our team is to raise $14,115 - $1 for each foot above sea level to the summit of Pikes Peak – towards the mission of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® to support families who experience the death of a loved one due to a traffic incident. We need 1,412 friends to donate $10.00 or more in order to reach our goal. On behalf of our team, I invite you to be one of these 1,412. I will personally write a thank you note for each donation. I hope to deplete our letterhead and envelope supply significantly in the next 3 months writing these notes. You can assure yourself of receiving a thank you note by visiting KKAD25 Run to Remember to learn more about this invitation and to click on the donate button to make your donation today.

Thank you – your generous giving keeps kids living, and keeps alive the mission of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®.

Please pass along this invitation because "It's About Kids! It's About Safety! It's About Caring! It's About Time!®"

Keep up with “thank you” note progress at Facebook KKAD25

Safe travels,
Tom Everson

Executive Director-Founder
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®- A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
402-334-1391
12418 C Street
Omaha, NE 68144
www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

6^th Annual Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Day Arrives May 1st.

Check out participating communities at KKAD25 Day.

Every one of us can participate in Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® Day by practicing the following behaviors:

• Walk around your vehicle before getting in and starting the ignition. Make sure the coast is clear of children, or people of any age, before backing out or moving forward.

•  Turn off and set aside your cell phone before putting the key in the ignition. A lifetime of regrets can be avoided by making this simple action a habit. Hang up and drive to keep everyone alive!

•  Make sure all are buckled up every trip and that children are in appropriate safety seats.

• Drive the speed limit, or appropriately slower due to presence of pedestrians, children at play, cyclists, and weather conditions.

• Stop at every single stop sign on every occasion you have to do so. 200 deaths each year could be prevented if only we would take the time to Stop! Take 3 To See at every stop sign. 

•  Leave 3-4 seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you. The life you save may be your own.

•  Observe all traffic signals and signs. Laws governing observance of these are designed to preserve lives, not to cause drivers any inconvenience. Spend time at a stop-light observing what is going on around you so that you are ready to proceed safely, and to keep others safe as well.

Visit Repetition - The Key to Keeping Kids Alive for information to copy and forward to others via facebook, e-mails, community, school, and company newsletters.

Tips for Parents can be found at “10 Ways to Say I Love You.”

"It's About Kids! It's About Safety!

It's About Caring! It's About Time!®"

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

12418 C Street

Omaha, NE 68144

We depend on the generosity of our donors to keep our mission alive. Your generous giving keeps kids living. Donate at KKAD25 Donate. Thank you.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® Day is One Month Away

6^th Annual Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® Day is One Month Away

Join New Berlin, WI and Maplewood, NJ in observing the 6th Annual Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Day May 1st. Click on KKAD25 Day to find out how your neighborhood, school, business, city can get on board.

Be the difference – observe speed limits, traffic signals and signs, watch following distance, buckle up, and hang up and drive to keep everyone alive.

"It's About Kids! It's About Safety!

It's About Caring! It's About Time!®"

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)


www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

12418 C Street

Omaha, NE 68144

We depend on the generosity of our donors to keep our mission alive. Your generous giving keeps kids living. Donate at KKAD25 Donate. Thank you.

Google This -Does Daylight Savings Time Help Keep Kids Alive?

Shaye Martin, Age 8, struck by speeding motorist 
while walking on the sidewalk in a school zone. 

Shaye died of his injuries.

Each day I receive a "Google Alert" entitled "Child dies in traffic accident." It is dis-heartening to receive dozens of stories each week about children of all ages who die because they...


...weren't buckled in
...were waiting for a school bus when struck
...were hit on their bike or skateboard
...were backed over in a driveway or parking lot
...were hit while walking on the sidewalk in a school zone by a speeding driver who jumps the curb
...were hit while crossing in a marked crosswalk, often accompanied by a stop sign that a motorist drove right through


There are dozens of other accounts that can be added, but you get the picture - children are needlessly dying.


This brings me to the story of  9 year -old Tyala Marie Frazier, who died as a result of being hit twice while crossing the street to talk to a friend. She was waiting for her school bus in the dark after the recent change to daylight savings time - see Girl, 9, dies after being struck by car, then bus. 


Tyala's death begs the questions:


-Would the first driver have spotted Tyala if it were light out, as it would have been prior to the time change?
-What cautions are in place - signage, flashing lights, etc. to alert motorists that they are entering an early morning school bus pick-up zone?
-Should school bus pick-up and drop-off zones be afforded the same protections in place in "school zones," since in a manner they are school zones in that students are present for the sole purpose of going to or returning from school?


As we seek to create safer roadway/roadside environments to benefit children of all ages, along with motorists, traffic engineering, law enforcement, and educational entities - including Keep Kids Alive Drive 25, must work together to realize progress in school zones and on neighborhood streets. One death is one too many. Every family, who like the Frazier's, experience the death of a loved one due to a traffic incident would undoubtedly echo this truth.


Find out how to make a difference today by visiting - Get Started - Keep Kids Alive!

"It's About Kids! It's About Safety!

It's About Caring! It's About Time!^®"

Do High Tech Gadgets Help Keep Kids Alive?

www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

Brooke Kerwin of Distracted Driving Help is our guest blogger this week. Please comment to get a discussion going on the effects of technology on our driving behaviors.

Technology’s Role in Driving Magnified in 2012

As a mobile technology boom has come upon the United States and the rest of the world over the last few years, cases of distracted driving have also seemingly been increasing. In many people’s eyes, the primary reason for these cases has been use of text messaging, but lawmakers are starting to place some of the blame on the automobile makers.

Just as tablets and smart phones have found their way into people’s hands, new lines of automobiles have made significant upgrades to their dashboards. The development of complex GPS systems, as well as top of the line sound systems has certainly become a separate distraction to drivers in their own right. Now, these automakers are facing pressure with potential guidelines from the Transportation Department.

The new regulations that are being proposed by the Department of Transportation are similar to those which were proposed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers nearly 10 years ago. While the regulations are logical, there seems to be conflict over the fact that many devices such as smart phones, portable GPS systems and tablets face little to no action from lawmakers.

Still, there’s no doubt that in car features have played a role in cases of distracted driving in the last few years. The proposed guidelines are something that would help keep the in car features from transforming too rapidly, as complex systems would certainly lead to more drivers diverting attention away from the road.

The new guidelines are expected to be the first in an elongated series of attempts to help make the roads as safe as possible from distracted drivers. There’s a possibility that cars could be rated by a government system based on their safety, as major car ranking publications have already done in the past.

Certainly there are a number of different factors that play into distracted driving and helping to keep kids safe. Technology is one of the biggest issues we face in road safety today and it’s good to know lawmakers are continuing to put pressure on the automakers in an effort to focus concentration for drivers. Hopefully dialogue continues to take place between the automakers and lawmakers which will be fair for both sides.