KNOX, Pa. (EYT) — Keystone SMILES Progressive Agriculture Safety Day looked a little bit different, as so many other things did this year.

During the late-spring, amid many cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Progressive Agriculture Foundation (PAF) made the decision to suspend all in-person events for staff and volunteers until further notice. Being unable to host these large group events in 2020, Keystone SMILES Agriculture Safety Day Coordinators took a different direction to get the safety day program into the hands of our local students in Clarion, Venango, and Forest Counties.

Each year Keystone SMILES CLC, Safe Kids Clarion Venango, community volunteers, and AmeriCorps members come together to provide almost 900 second graders with a one-day event packed with hands-on, fun, and age-appropriate learning activities about health and safety. The one-day event teaches or expands children’s knowledge with safety lessons that can keep them safe at home, in parks, or on a farm. In 2019, this community/school event generated 267 volunteers, 4,062 volunteer hours, and 894 students from 13 school districts attended the two events.

This year, with the direction of the Progressive Ag Safety Foundation, Keystone SMILES staff and AmeriCorps members developed a Take-Home Activity Bag for each student who could not attend the May 2020 event. The bag consists of six hands-on safety activities, needed materials for the activities, lessons/directions, as well as their Progressive Ag Safety Day t-shirt and a reusable bag. The goal for these bags is that students will complete these activities with their families, genuine safety conversations will be sparked and plans will be developed. Keystone SMILES AmeriCorps members and staff have been preparing and delivering the bags to each school district to distribute to the students. The two-month project is almost complete with a few school districts left to deliver in 2021.

The Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program is the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America. Their mission is to provide education, training, and resources to make farm, ranch, and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities.

Keystone SMILES CLC is a non-profit organization committed to providing youth with opportunities to be the best by providing a wide range of educational programs serving youth ages preschool through adulthood. Their mission is to empower and strengthen people of all ages, with a focus on children and youth, to enhance the quality of their lives through learning and service.

For more information on these events, to become a sponsor, or to volunteer, please contact Keystone SMILES Executive Director, Joyce A. Fosdick, at 814-797-1184 or visit www.keystonesmiles.org.