Play safe is a message a local teenager helped to promote this summer as a participant in the Saskatoon Ex parade.
Michal Danczak, 16, a member of The War Amps Child Amputee Program, rode the Playsafe/Drivesafe float as a Safety Ambassador along with his fellow Champs, while other Champs walked alongside the float as Safety Walkers.
The colourful, animated float is designed to capture the attention of children, with Astar, the gold robot from Planet Danger, reminding them he can put his arm back on, but they can't. To further reinforce the message, the Safety Walkers and Safety Ambassadors shouted out the Playsafe message to kids and the Drivesafe message to adults along the parade route.
Danczak, a right leg amputee due to a farm accident, and other Champs know the consequences of unsafe play.They accentuate the positive, however, by using their experience to pass on the Playsafe message with a "kids-to-kids" approach.
"These Champs help us get the Playsafe message out to more than 2.5 million people at parades across Canada each year," said Rob Larman, director of Playsafe/Drivesafe, who lost a leg at the age of 14 when friends dared him to jump a train.
"It is a vital message, because I know that if I had heard it at a young age, I would have thought twice about playing in such a dangerous place."
For Playsafe information or resources, call 1-800-250-3030 or visit waramps.ca.
