Operation Lifesaver, Inc. Announces Grant Applications Now Being Accepted

Operation Lifesaver, Inc., (OLI) today announced that the application period is now open for a total of $150,000 in grant funds for transit agencies and other local governmental entities for rail transit safety education and public awareness initiatives.

“With the recent unprecedented growth in the number of new rail transit systems and transit ridership, safety is of paramount importance,” said Joyce Rose, President and CEO of Operation Lifesaver. “Operation Lifesaver’s public information, education and outreach model is a proven, effective way to improve safety around transit systems.”

Rose noted that grant amounts are capped at $25,000 and require a 25 percent match. Projects must be focused on safety education or public awareness initiatives in communities with rail transit systems (commuter rail, light rail, subway and streetcar). OLI-approved materials and OLI logos must be used, and all grants must be coordinated through state Operation Lifesaver programs. State Coordinators for every U.S. state can be contacted at:  http://oli.org/state_coordinators/

All applications must be submitted via OLI’s Common Grant Application online grant processing program between today and Friday, July 11, 2014.  For those not familiar with using the online grant application system, a series of training webinars have been scheduled and potential applicants are encouraged to register and participate in one of these webinars.  

Examples of 2013 funded grant projects include: the Washington, DC Department of Transportation streetcar safety campaign, which created safety education materials for children from grades K to 12 in schools along the city’s new streetcar line; the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s new “Eyes up, phone down” safety education campaign to increase safety awareness among the high-risk millennial age group via social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; and Caltrain’s "Don't Shortcut Life” campaign, which features high school student-created safety videos and collateral materials including a law enforcement citation pocket guide and rail safety brochure.

“Operation Lifesaver is grateful to the Federal Transit Administration for the agency’s ongoing support that helps make these grants, as well as other OLI popular campaigns such as our recently launched See Tracks? Think Train!campaign possible,” Rose concluded.

For additional information or questions, please contact Cathy Gillen, OLI National Transit Safety Education Consultant, phone (443) 463-4449.

About Operation Lifesaver

Operation Lifesaver, Inc. is a national, non-profit safety education group whose goal is to eliminate deaths and injuries at railroad crossings and along railroad rights of way. Operation Lifesaver has programs in all 50 states, with trained volunteers who provide free safety talks to community groups, school bus drivers, truck drivers and student drivers to raise awareness of the dangers around railroad tracks and trains. Learn more at http://www.oli.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

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