Honeywell and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Announce Fourth Annual Search for America's 'Safest Teachers'
February 11 2009 - 9:57AM
PR Newswire (US)
Leading Child Safety Educators Can Win a $10,000 Classroom Makeover
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Honeywell
(NYSE: HON) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC) today announced the launch of the fourth annual
Got 2B Safe! Awards program, designed to encourage teachers at
elementary schools nationwide to help their students learn valuable
and potentially life-saving lessons. According to the U.S.
Department of Justice, 797,500 children younger than 18 were
reported missing during a one year period, an average of 2,185
children reported missing each day. Got 2B Safe! provides teachers
child safety teaching tools and rewards teachers who develop the
most creative lesson plans are with big prizes. Five teachers win a
classroom makeover worth $10,000 and 100 teachers win $500 worth of
school supplies. Makeovers include an overall redesign of the
classroom with themes chosen by the teachers, and materials
including Got 2B Safe! artwork. The Got 2B Safe! Awards program
will be open until March 23, 2009. Educators can log on to
http://www.got2bsafe.com/ for more information about the contest
and to submit a brief essay emphasizing the Got 2B Safe! Four Rules
of Safety. "It is crucial to arm our children with positive,
empowering skills to help them recognize and avoid potentially
dangerous situations," said Tom Buckmaster, president, Honeywell
Hometown Solutions. "Participation in the Got 2B Safe! Awards
program gives teachers an opportunity to educate their students,
parents and community to be smarter about personal safety." Since
2003, Honeywell and NCMEC have worked together on Got 2B Safe!. The
program fills a critical gap -- no other nationwide abduction
prevention program exists for schools. Got 2B Safe! focuses on
educating eight- to ten-year-olds and their families on how to help
prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation. It arms teachers,
parents and guardians with tools to keep children safer. To date,
Got 2B Safe! has been distributed to 240,000 principals and
teachers, and more than 72,000 schools in the United States-
reaching an estimated five million students. "Teaching children
about personal safety should be a priority," said Ernie Allen,
president and CEO of NCMEC. "We are excited to be working with
Honeywell on the Got 2B Safe! Awards program, to educate teachers,
children and the community-at-large about how to prevent child
abduction and sexual exploitation." Got 2B Safe! teaches simple
rules to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation
through the Got 2B Safe! Four Rules of Safety: -- Check First --
Children should always check with parents and guardians before
accepting gifts, rides, or invitations from anyone, including
friends, acquaintances and people they don't know. -- Go With a
Friend -- Simple and straightforward -- never go anywhere alone.
Being with another person in public is safer and more fun. -- It's
My Body - Teach your children they have the right to say NO to any
unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by others.
-- Tell a Trusted Adult -- Teach your children to TELL a trusted
adult -- parent, guardian, teacher, etc. -- if anyone or anything
makes them feel scared, uncomfortable or confused. "Having taught
in a variety of different environments and witnessing all types of
abuse and neglect, I've always tried to incorporate a unit on
safety in my classroom," said Jessica Beamon, a 2008 Grand Prize
winner. "The simple Got 2B Safe! rules clearly resonate with my
students and help educate them to make safe choices." Makeovers
include an overall redesign of the classroom with themes chosen by
the teachers, and safety materials including Got 2B Safe! artwork.
Additional information is available at http://www.got2bsafe.com/.
The Got 2B Safe! program has won eight awards within the corporate
social responsibility industry. It is a signature program of
Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company's corporate citizenship
initiative, which focuses on four areas: Family Safety &
Security; Housing & Shelter; Science & Math Education; and
Humanitarian Relief. Together with leading public and non-profit
institutions, Honeywell has developed powerful programs to address
these needs in the communities it serves. Honeywell also partners
with NASA on FMA Live!, a hip hop science education program; and
Rebuilding Together on home revitalization projects for low-income
homeowners. About Honeywell Honeywell International is a $37
billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving
customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control
technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive
products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris
Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York,
London and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For additional information,
please visit http://www.honeywell.com/. About Honeywell Hometown
Solutions The Got 2B Safe! program is part of Honeywell Hometown
Solutions, the company's corporate citizenship initiative, which
focuses on four areas: Family Safety & Security; Housing &
Shelter; Science & Math Education and Humanitarian Relief.
Together with leading public and non-profit institutions, Honeywell
has developed powerful programs to address these needs in the
communities it serves. For more information, please go to
http://www.honeywell.com/hhs. About the National Center for Missing
& Exploited Children The National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping protect children from abduction and sexual
exploitation. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a
reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more
than 519,300 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has
assisted law enforcement with more than 135,800 missing child
cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 118,700 children. For
more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24 hour hotline
at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at
http://www.missingkids.com/. DATASOURCE: Honeywell CONTACT: Lisa
Mata, +1-973-455-4254, Web Site: http://www.honeywell.com/
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