SMARTRISK is a national, charitable organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives by helping Canadians to see and manage the risks in their lives.

Some key facts on injury include:

• Injury is the leading killer of Canada’s youth, taking more young lives than all other causes of death combined. Seven out of every 10 deaths among Canadian teens are due to injury.
• Preventable injury kills 700 teenagers every year – an average of two every day.
• Getting a driver’s licence is a route to independence for many teens, but car crashes are also the leading cause of death for young people 15-20 years old.
• Over 3 million Canadians are treated for injuries annually at an economic cost of more than $19.8 billion.
• The great majority of these injuries are predictable and preventable.

SMARTRISK was founded in 1991 by Dr. Robert Conn, a children’s heart surgeon who chose to put down the scalpel, knowing that he could save many more lives by working to prevent injuries before they happen, rather than trying to repair the results. Today, President and CEO Dr. Philip Groff oversees the programming that helps people learn to take smart risks in all they do through five simple, positive choices:

Buckle Up. Look First. Wear the Gear. Get Trained. Drive Sober.

At SMARTRISK, we understand that life is full of risk and that taking risk is what makes life worth living for many people. We know that for teens, safety is boring, but managing risk can be exciting. Our goal is to help people see the risks in their lives and learn to take smart risks so they can enjoy life, injury free. SMARTRISK’s core programs focus on reaching youth – the age group at highest risk for injury.

SMARTRISK No Regrets is a peer leadership program that offers a permanent home in high schools for the smart risk messages. SMARTRISK trains youth leaders and their staff advisers to implement injury prevention activities and events in their schools to promote the five messages all year long.

SMARTRISK No Regrets Live is an injury prevention road show for high school students, designed to introduce them to smart risk-taking behaviours. The hour-long presentation combines fast-paced video clips of young people taking smart risks and more sober images of the results of poor choices that led to someone getting hurt, with a live talk by an injury survivor or someone who has been deeply affected by injury. The presenter speaks candidly about how the injury has affected his or her life, while presenting positive choices to reduce the risk of injury.

SMARTRISK also houses the Ontario Injury Prevention Resource Centre, which is designed to help injury prevention practitioners in Ontario do their jobs as effectively as possible, with the goal of reducing injuries in their local communities. We offer a number of services to practitioners, including consultations, education and training.

For more information on SMARTRISK, see www.smartrisk.ca or call 416-596-2700. For a media request, contact Kathy Blair at 416-596-2715 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)