This Saturday, May 19, will mark the third Cranston Family Safety Day to be held in Garden City Shopping Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day will be filled with fun activities for the entire family with a focus on safety, brought to the community by the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force, Mayor Allan Fung and the City of Cranston, the Cranston Police Department, Whole Foods and Garden City Center.
The day will include free Child identification cards, fire safety, bike safety, car seat checks, health screening (provided by CCAP), the Cranston YMCA’s “Y on the Move,” the Rock Wall from the Rhode Island National Guard, R.I. State Police Rollover Simulator, child face painting and Bosco, the Cranston Police K-9 dog.
There will also be free bike helmets for the first 500 children to attend, which have been donated by the Cranston Family Center with a grant from the R.I. Office on Highway Safety and the Brain Injury Association of R.I.
“This is the third annual Cranston Family Safety Day and we couldn’t be more excited about this event,” said Dana DeVerna, director of the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force. “It is incredible the way a community rallies together to help raise awareness of child safety.”
The Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force is made up of different sectors of the community to promote prevention-based programs. They fund events from after-school programs at the middle schools, parenting groups, summer programs and more, all aiming to protect and educate the citizens of Cranston.
“None of this would be possible without the help from Garden City for letting us hold the event at their locations and also providing some of the vendors, the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force board members for volunteering their time, to the Cranston Police Department for providing many officers to assist and be a crucial part of this event, and to the Department of Highway Safety and the Child Family Center for donation of funds which helped purchase the bike helmets and giveaways we have for the children,” DeVerna said.
Throughout the event, there will be a DJ and The Learning Brooke will have a free table with children’s craft activities (the learning Brooke is located on Pontiac Avenue), as well as balloons and costumed characters strolling around.
“Cranston Safety Day is a wonderful community event and a great opportunity for families to learn about safety and have fun at the same time,” said Janice Pascone, Garden City marketing director.
The event will be held, rain or shine, and is free to the public. If you have any questions regarding this weekend’s Family Safety Day or about the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force, contact Dana DeVerna at 562-2244 or ddeverna@comcap.org.
Also keep a look out for a new TV spot called “Life is Good-Live It!” which will air on Channel 10 throughout the month of May. May is a celebratory month for teens with proms and the end of school, and the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force wants to send a positive message to remind students that “Life is Good-Live It!” and not to let alcohol or other drugs interfere with their lives.
Working with Mayor Allan Fung, Superintendent Peter Nero, faculty, staff, students from Cranston East and West and the Cranston Police Department's School Resource Officers, the Cranston Substance Abuse Task Force has created this third commercial that sends an upbeat message to teens and was made by teens. The commercial will air during shows such as The Today Show, Saturday Night Live and nightly newscasts, among other times. An all day video play of the commercial will air on Channel 10’s website on May 18, one day prior to Family Safety Day in Garden City.
