KANSAS CITY, Mo., (May 28, 2024) – The Research Foundation’s injury prevention program, ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City, educated nearly 21,000 students in 60 different schools during the 2023-2024 school year.

ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City is part of a national, award-winning program that offers free, age-appropriate programs. Health educators and brain or spinal cord injury survivors present the importance of making safe choices by preventing injuries to the brain or spinal cord. The presentations cover a variety of topics including distracted driving, promoting seat belt usage, sports and recreation safety, helmet usage, motor-vehicle safety, water safety and avoiding violence.

A comment from the post-program survey said, “the speakers talk to the students instead of talking at them to keep them engaged. They also ask questions that are thought provoking for our students to think about."

Funding for the 2023-2024 program came from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Kansas Department of Transportation. This support allows The Research Foundation to offer ThinkFirst programs to school districts across six counties including Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.

ThinkFirst of Greater Kansas City is now scheduling free school assemblies for the 2024-2025 school year. Email thinkfirst@theresearchfoundationkc.org or visit theresearchfoundationkc.org/thinkfirst for more information.