Each year the Western Illinois Chapter conducts a free one-day Farm Safety Day Camp for kids in the Western Illinois area. Hundreds of children between 3 and 12 along with many of their parents and grandparents have benefited from the information provided by volunteer instructors.

          Drawing from a five county area of West-Central Illinois, the attending children are grouped by age, and 10 to 20 children are guided by adult group leaders as they rotate among the "learning stations" on a pre-determined schedule. The instructors at each station are experts in their fields who volunteer their time and talents for the sake of the children.

          The learning stations inlcude such topics as:

Emergency First Aid Bicycle Safety Lawn Mower and Weedeater Safety Tractor Rollover Prevention Safe Handling of Large and Small Animals Firearms Safety Safe Operation of ATVs Safe Operation of Children's Motorized Vehicles Fire Safety including a Smokehouse Combine Safety Electrical Safety Power Take-off Safety Gravity Flow Wagon Safety Water Safety Chemical Safety and Poison Look-A-Likes Farm Equipment Hazard Hunt Railroad Safety

Learning how to safely operate Children's Motorized Vehicles

     Breakfast and lunch are served to all who attend and each child receives a free t-shirt and numerous safety-related educational materials. The day camps have been a huge success and the children all walk away with a smile on their faces and some questions to take home to mom and dad or grandma and grandpa.

     Major events like this don't happen without the generous help of the dozens of volunteers who give hours of their time and the public agencies, organizations, businesses and individuals who provide the money, materials and services necessary to put on such an event.

     Although we will never know how many childhood injuries we may have prevented or how many children's lives we might have saved through the Day Camp program, we do know from the feedback we receive and the number of children who return each year that we are having a positive impact.

     We would be glad to share what we have learned about conducting these day camps with anyone who would like to conduct their own; just call or write and we will be happy to assist in whatever ways we can. The Chapter produces a short video summary of each year's Day Camp. Copies of these videos are available from the Chapter at nominal cost. A video is also available that illustrates how the FS4JK "Watch It On The Farm" program can be used by Chapters for school presentations. To request a copy of any of these videos send an e-mail to the Western Illinois Chapter