What was this event all about and what was the purpose of this event?
This event screamed necessity after a dear friend of mine had a scary incident with her then 3 month old daughter. She wrote a guest post about her struggles of almost losing her daughter. It was simple- her daughter could have died had she not known how to properly give her infant CPR. She was CPR certified, but it could have been a different story if she didn’t take the initiative to sign up for that class. It led me to thinking about how many other mamas might not know how vital it is to get CPR certified, or at least know the very basics of life saving skills.
Then other stories about social media incidents, kidnappings and more started popping up everywhere and I knew that San Diego Moms Blog HAD to have a safety focused event.
The goal of this Family Safety Event was a simple one- we wanted to saturate our guests with safety information covering all bases so that it’s a one stop shop for information while having some fun!
Check out the video that our writer, Yuli Armstrong put together:
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Where: The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch
When: Sunday, March 25th, 2018 from 11am-4pm
Who: Listed below are the resources and sponsors who supported this event. Please find their websites to gather information if you were not able to make it out to this event! And feel free to message us or comment with questions if you need any more information!
Our Title Sponsors-
Children’s Physicians Medical Group provided a ton of information about all the doctors in their group which are all over San Diego. Dr. Friedman was there towards the end of the event sharing information about allergy safety. They also provided a cute kids safety coloring book and pencils for our swag bags with pages filled with phone safety, sports safety and more! It was a great resource for our families and they other take home information at their booth. It was incredible to have their support for this event!
Resources and Sponsors-
San Diego Police Department– The SDPD didn’t disappoint! Officer Trevor came with a wealth of information for the kiddos, and some for the adults, like easy vehicle theft prevention. They handed our sticker badges, police equipment for the kiddos to try on, a police car that they could climb in AND they brought the SWAT Bear Cat. That thing was huge! (Check below in the photos). They were an integral part of this event and we are so grateful that they were there for our families.
The Naval Base San Diego brought their K9 crew and did a few great demos! Their highly trained dogs were showing off their skills in a big way. Our audience was captivated, and it was an incredible experience to see in person. We are so grateful for their time and sharing how they protect our families. (Video at the bottom)
Helen Woodward Animal Center brought information on animal safety. Their bunny friend, “Hash Brown” was fun for the kiddos to pet and ask questions about, and the snake was a friend that they could see with their eyes. They had a lot of great information about wild animals, and of course what they do to protect animals at the center. Did you know that they do vet camps for kiddos interested in becoming a veterinarian? At the bottom there is a small clip about what to do if you see a snake in the wild.
The American Red Cross brought out a ton of information! They gave out huge booklets with evacuation plan information for families in case of emergencies/fires/etc.! They had their dummies there to show a bit about hands only CPR. They have a lot of information on their site about it and of course, the importance of parents signing up to get CPR certified.
The San Diego Fire Department came by with their fire truck for the kids to explore! It was such a treat for the kiddos
Rise Buddy handed out samples of their delicious and healthy snacks! We love having them at our events sharing their healthier version of snacks with our families.
Dr. Cameron Sutter of North County Family Chiropractic provided posture and spinal screenings which can reveal important health information and unlock the door to improved health and well-being. People are recognizing the benefit of seeking an alternative to traditional medicine; one that will help them achieve and maintain optimal health. They offer so much more at their practice, and they have been helping our readers for a long time! We have loved partnering with Dr. Cameron for a long time and consistently refer our readers to him.
Edward Wall from NY Life brought his team and they were doing free child ID kits! These little laminated cards with the child’s info on it are so important to have in case of emergencies. It was a popular spot for our families! NY Life also offers a lot of great resources for protecting your family financially in case of emergencies. You need to be prepared for anything, and Eddie and his team can help you!
Sandi Schwartz and her daughter from Leading Edge Parenting was there with information on helping parents raise confident, responsible, happy children. If you visit her site, it’s easy to see that they are a wealth of resources. From 1-on-1 coaching, to free resources on their site, there is a lot to help you become a powerful parent!
Nicholas Sanchez and the team from AXA Advisors was there to talk about bike safety. With the proper equipment (helmet, knee pads, etc.), it’s easy to stay safe on your bike! They are a great resource for families, and they can also take care of your finances. Email: nicholas.sanchez@axa-advisors.com
Kacee from Let’s Talk Teens was there on behalf of herself and STAPP (app controlling) where she has a lot of information about online safety for teens!! Having teens is a special realm of parenting where you really need to be in touch with the ever changing social platform. You can find information about protecting your kids online in various ways. What hashtags are bad, peer pressure, and spending too much time on their devices! Check each site for a wealth of information.
The Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition (BSCC) was there with trafficking information for our parents. Whether we want to admit it or not, San Diego is the third largest city for trafficking in the country. Their simple mission is to fight human trafficking in America by spreading the word. You need to at least browse the site and get familiar with what types of trafficking are prevalent in today’s world.
Milena Phillips from The Jonathan Sellers & Charlie Keever Foundation (JSCK), did an amazing play based on her children’s safety book called “Always Fly Away” to teach kids the importance of stranger danger. Milena is extremely passionate about her cause and had our guests interact in her special play. It was a great way to start the event! Check out the video of her play at the bottom of the post!
Scripps Memorial Hospital– La Jolla brought injury prevention information for our families. How can you stay healthy and be active and still prevent injuries? Other important information about National Stop The Bleed Day (March 31st) was there as well. Once you do get injured, do you know all the ways you can stop the bleeding? Check out this important information!
Super Soccer Stars had a fun and interactive play area for our kiddos. They brought little pop up goals and let the kiddos practice their shots on goal while they talked about sports safety. It’s never too early to show kids how to stretch properly and also how to properly warm up the body before you participate in sports. They also had various activities planned throughout the day, including a bingo game and a a demonstration.
Massage Heights Rancho Penasquitos came out and was gracious enough to give our families a free 5 minute chair massage. I don’t know about you, but I would LOVE a one minute massage, so it was a great little break from the days festivities. It’s not just pampering when you get a massage, they like to think of it as a necessity. Something that your body needs to be healthy! The next time you think about getting a massage, you need to go to Massage Heights!
Laura Kelly from Keller Williams Realty and her mortgage partner, Karla Rosillo, not only sponsored our “passports to safety” but they also had a really fun and interactive booth. From coloring pages, to a prize wheel, these ladies were excited about connecting with our community.
We had a great focus on water safety in two different areas. We had Josh the Otter information that teaches kids to stay away from the water. There was multiple pamphlets and a book on Josh the Otter’s story! The other angle was The Storybook Character Company who brought Ariel (queen of the water) and Moana (also a water expert) walking around talking to the kids about water safety and asking them various questions on how to be safe around water.
We had Foster and Adoptive Resource Family Services and the San Diego Probation Family Engagement Unit there to talk to our families about families! The county of San Diego takes care of our kiddos, and runs perspective families through a long list of requirements before they take on the care of a child. Did you know that all adoptive families are required to become CPR certified? You can find more information about adoption and more by checking their sites online.
Daniel from Culligan Water San Diego was simply there quenching our guests thirsts with some water samples.
Our swag bags were full from all of our participating partners: Kind Bars, some chapstick swag from Dr. Lori at Coast Pediatrics, some lotion samples from Bella B Naturals, some diaper cream samples from Triple Paste, some free coupons from the Carmel Mountain Baked Bear, discount coupons from Fleet Feet, reusable totes from Title Nine, free small pizzas from Fresh Brothers in Carmel Valley, swag from Tre Boutique, discount coupons from Crunch gym, and information from CHI Au Pair USA.
We even had a few amazing giveaways- the most popular being the Britax car seats! We had one winner take one home and the other winners notified after the event! Britax provided us with their new line of safer child safety seats with their new cool flow technology. It won’t make the kiddos sweaty while they are riding in the seats! You can find out where to buy them from on this site. It was a great way to get our moms interacting with the newest and best products out there to protect our babies.
We also had a Starbucks giveaway, a HUGE giveaway from Fleet Feet and a Baked Bear gift Card giveaway. We are so grateful for the local stores inside The Village for participating in our event!
Here’s what Christine M had to say about the event:
Thanks for putting this event together. I recently became certified as a CERT Community Emergency Response Team member and new mother so I “geeked out” at the idea of a Family Safety Fair. It’s refreshing to see an emphasis on safety preparedness because there needs to be more of this in our community especially when you have young children. There really was something there for everyone from teaching kids how to respond to animals of all kinds responsibly (snake & rabbit from Helen Woodward to active police dogs from the K-9 unit), to preparing parents with kiddie IDs, sports & helmet and swimming safety awareness, to first aid and CPR training classes, safe cell phone use for teens, and even fun things like sitting in a SWAT, SDFD, SDPD vehicle to clean water, healthy snacks, financial and physical wellness (massages
?). It was also fun to involve both large, small and local companies in the swag bag and giveaways. It really was a treat and having plentiful parking and keeping this a free event was great. No one else is doing anything like this. Great job!
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