Every year, 9,000 families in the U.S. and a million families around the world lose a child because of a preventable injury. Millions more children are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime. On Sunday, the Safe Kids Missoula Coalition will host families, community members and local organizations at Community Medical Center in honor of the annual Safe Kids Fair to raise awareness and resources to protect kids from preventable injuries and deaths. Here’s Safe Kids Missoula Coordinator Heidi Morris:

"This is our annual Safe Kids Missoula Fair and this is an event that includes several agencies from the community in the surrounding area," Morris said. "We all have one simple, but critical role, and that's to work together as a community to raise awareness about preventable injuries so kids can grow up to do all of the great things kids were meant to do."

Safe Kids
Photo courtesy of Safe Kids Missoula Coalition
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The Safe Kids Missoula Fair will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday and free of charge.

"We'll have representation from Missoula Rural Fire, City Fire, Mountain Line, Beach Transportation," Morris said. "We have information on helmets, safety, on sports safety through the UM Athletic Department, YMCA, Parks and Rec will be there with some activities for the kids and safety information as well. We're going to have the Missoula and Granite County abd Ravalli County Buckle Up Montana Coalitions, and even more than that!"

Morris said in Missoula, preventable injuries are the leading cause of death for children. Of the deaths of 1 to 17 year olds in Montana, 94 percent of the unintentional deaths were preventable.

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