For Immediate Release: 6/19/2015 Montgomery County Launches “Summer of Safety” Education Campaign; Online Resource for Vital Safety and Prevention Information Pertinent to Summer Season On June 22, Montgomery County premieres “Summer of Safety,” a comprehensive educational social media and online resource of critical safety and prevention information targeted to the summer season. The Summer of Safety campaign will provide essential safety information to the public throughout the summer months via social media channels, a County webpage and community outreach events and activities. Daily safety message tweets using “#MoCoSafety” will be sent from the Montgomery County and other County departments’ twitter feeds to alert followers to new safety information that will be added to the Summer of Safety webpage from June 22 through August 30. Those without access to, or whose preference is not to use social media, can sign up on the Summer of Safety webpage www.montgomerycountymd.gov/summersafety for weekly email delivery of the safety tips. The goal of the campaign is to improve safety by raising awareness about common summertime risks and provide a County-unified information resource for ways to reduce those risks and prevent hazards. “Protecting the safety and health of residents is one of our most important responsibilities,” said Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett. “Police, fire and rescue and other County professionals work each and every day to protect and provide aid to Montgomery County residents, visitors and workers. With improved public awareness about preventing safety hazards we can more effectively reduce the risks that occur during summer months.” Summer is a highly anticipated season when children and adults engage in biking, swimming, playing, grilling, hiking and traveling. The campaign includes safety tips, videos, quizzes and other resources to educate the public about staying safe while enjoying fun, summertime activities. The tips focus on safety issues that affect everyone and are related to: pedestrians, swimming pool use, summer storms, picnics and cook-outs, 4th of July, preventing Lyme disease, life-saving methods such as CPR and other topics. Every Monday, the campaign will introduce new safety topic messages and post any “this-just-in” safety and event information based on what’s going on in the news. Week one begins today with safety tips for swimming pools, the Potomac River and the summer storm season. The campaign concludes at the end of August with a wide range of back-to-school safety reminders. Find it all on the Summer of Safety webpage at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/summersafety. # # # Release ID: 15-247 Media Contact: Lucille Baur 240-777-6507 or Judy Stiles240-777-6875

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