About Us: Our History

Martin R. Eichelberger, M.D., and Herta Feely, a public relations and media consultant, first worked together to publicize a half-hour television show called "Our Children's War" that detailed the Children's National Medical Center trauma service and the children treated there. Both Dr. Eichelberger and Feely were shocked that there was no national movement to address injuries, the number one killer of children. Together they hired one staffer and formed the National Children's Accident Prevention Campaign. CNMC continues to serve as the lead organization for successor entities to this day.

The new organization gained support from several congressmen, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and President Ronald Reagan. It was officially launched in June 1986 with public service announcements and a press conference.

The response was overwhelming. Partnerships with other national organizations, such as the National Head Injury Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Safety Council, were quickly formed. Many of their local chapters would be instrumental in starting local Safe Kids coalitions.

Next Feely and Dr. Eichelberger began searching for sponsors. By September 1987, they had secured a meeting with top-level officials at Johnson & Johnson. They convinced Frank Ziegler, president of Personal Products, to provide five years of funding. Johnson & Johnson remains the organization's founding sponsor.

The National SAFE KIDS Campaign was officially launched in 1988 as the only nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing accidental childhood injuries. Former U.S. Surgeon General Koop became chairman in 1988, retiring in 2003. In 1994, Feely left Safe Kids, and Heather Paul, Ph.D., became the executive director. In 2004, the executive director position was split. Dr. Eichelberger became the president and chief executive officer, and Beverly Farinelli, BSN, MHA, became the chief operating officer.

The successful Safe Kids model of promoting accidental childhood injury prevention at the grassroots level in the United States drew attention from public health agencies, trauma specialists and corporate interests around the world. Representatives from 14 member countries joined in the formal launch of Safe Kids Worldwide on October 14, 2002, in Washington, D.C. With the launch came release of a report documenting the problem, Accidental Childhood Injuries Worldwide - Meeting the Challenge, and the unveiling of the Safe Kids Worldwide Web site.

The Safe Kids Worldwide network includes longstanding non-governmental organizations, such as Kidsafe in Australia and Safe Kids in New Zealand, as well as new entities created solely as Safe Kids organizations.

In 2004, following the development of a new strategic plan, the decision was made to merge the mission and goals of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and its more than 600 coalitions and chapters with those of Safe Kids Worldwide and its 16 member countries. The most visible aspect of the unification would be a new common name and brand. In 2005, following board approval, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign officially became Safe Kids Worldwide.