SAINT PAUL (Aug. 26, 2021) – TPT NOW (Twin Cities PBS) received a two-year grant of $330,000 from Union Pacific Railroad’s Community Ties Giving Program for a regional project of Raising Parental Awareness About Rail Safety in PBS Markets. This grant expands impact of a three-year project for creating and distributing rail safety messaging in Minnesota to five additional key markets.
Raising Parental Awareness About Rail Safety in PBS Markets will encourage parents to teach and role model safe behaviors for their children through a significant broadcast and digital awareness-building program. Specifically, the project aims to increase parents’ awareness about railroad safety, encourage them to discuss railroad safety with their children and model safe behavior around the tracks.
“Union Pacific is proud to work with TPT NOW as we educate parents that rail safety is a foundational skill, equally as important as teaching a child to look both ways when crossing the street,” said Union Pacific Senior Vice President – Corporate Relations, Chief Administrative Officer and Foundation President Scott Moore. “Providing bilingual options for communities to learn more about rail safety is critical to our success as we work toward our ultimate goal – an injury-free environment around the tracks.”
TPT NOW’s approach is informed from the 2019 study published by SafeKids Worldwide and funded by Union Pacific: “Railroads: An Often-Overlooked Danger to Children.” Among the key findings are that most parents do not talk to their children about rail safety, even though every five days a child dies in a rail-related incident. Half of parents admit to taking risks around railroads, and less than half have conversations with their children about rail safety. Additionally, parents are unsure if their children are learning about railroad safety at school or as part of community programs. There is a clear disconnect between parent knowledge and reality of risk.
“TPT shares Union Pacific’s commitment to building safe, resilient and thriving communities,” said TPT NOW Managing Director, Lillian MacDonald. “Our work with Union Pacific is an opportunity to build on rail safety content alongside other public safety information and expand reach to new audiences in English and Spanish in broader markets. Every day, TPT NOW serves as an essential public resource for critical community information.”
This project will reach parents and families with rail safety information in multiple formats, in English and Spanish, and on multiple platforms, in the Twin Cities and Minnesota market, and five additional public television markets: Chicago, IL; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Portland, OR; and Los Angeles, CA.
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About TPT NOW:
TPT NOW, a 24/7, multi-lingual, broadcast and online emergency preparedness and public health & safety service, was created in 2017 to help fill critical communication gaps between public health/safety leaders and cultural communities. No other media outlet in the country – public or commercial – is currently able to produce real-time emergency communications in 4 languages. TPT NOW was recognized by the National Educational Telecommunications Association for its groundbreaking work during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about TPT NOW, check out this video (3 minutes) or the TPT NOW Facebook page.
About Union Pacific:
Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) delivers the goods families and businesses use every day with safe, reliable and efficient service. Operating in 23 western states, the company connects its customers and communities to the global economy. Trains are the most environmentally responsible way to move freight, helping Union Pacific protect future generations. More information about Union Pacific is available at www.up.com.
© Twin Cities Public Television - 2021. All rights reserved.
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