Pre-School Children Get ‘Drivers-Ed’ Training

Juvenile Program Benefits St. Jude Children’s Hospital

[Toms River, NJ] -- Among the youngest drivers in the world, pre-school children at The Goddard School, at 255 Route 70 in Toms River, http://www.goddardschool.com/Schools/Toms-River-II-NJ/Schools.gspx, take their very first Drivers-Ed tests at 10:30 AM on October 9th and 10th, 2008. Otherwise known as the *Trike-A-Thon* Challenge, the event is a serious and early effort to nurture traffic-safety and driver-education behavior among young children using bicycles. The driving-safety instruction and fund-raising program was developed by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Along with the traffic-safety aspects of the program, the goal is to raise money for pediatric cancer research and the treatment of catastrophic childhood diseases.

The introductory Drivers-Ed program consists of a *fun-learning* segment and then a *fun-draising* segment, to teach traffic-safety and driver-safety lessons through video instruction. Because entertainment increases retainment, the entire syllabus of the early-education program is designed around cheerful graphics, lively multi-media, and interactive stories with special friends, Bikewell Bear® and Pedals the Bunny™, both from St. Jude’s Hospital. At the end of the week-long program, the children take part in the *Trike-A-Thon* Challenge to demonstrate their knowledge about the lessons learned, while raising money for the charity Hospital.

Parents, grandparents, family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, businesses, and organizations are asked to sponsor their favorite participant(s), childhood team, participating family, or an entire classroom - by pledging money for each challenge, or just a flat, one-time donation.

“We are happy to benefit Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital this year," says Ms. Dana Chibbaro (CQ), owner and operator of The Goddard School. "We hope to educate our families and friends about this incredible research center committed to saving the lives of children with cancer and other deadly diseases. The children are really proud to be a part of the vital team supporting the hospital’s work. We all work to ensure that no child will be turned away because of a family’s inability to pay.”

St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization, through events such as this nationwide Trike-A-Thon program. St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital was the inspiration for 1960’s TV personality, Danny Thomas, and is the result of his work and the work of many other individuals who were inspired by his dream.

For more information about St. Jude’s Hospital, its research, medicine, science and patient care, visit: http://www.stjude.org.