Noosa students to receive free spinal safety talk

Thanks to funding from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s Community Grants Program, around 3,600 Noosa students can now benefit from free safety presentations on how to prevent a spinal cord injury. The Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT), a service of the Spinal Injuries Association, is delivered by 14 volunteer presenters who all use a wheelchair and have paraplegia or quadriplegia.

“We are delighted to secure funding from the Community Grants Program and would like to thank the Sunshine Coast Regional Council for supporting SEAT” said Spinal Injuries Association CEO Mark Henley.

“Children and young adults tend to act before they think and don’t realise just how easy it is to sustain a permanent spinal cord injury.

“This funding will allow all Noosa students at primary and secondary schools to view a SEAT presentation free of charge.

“We encourage all Noosa schools to book in the near future – we are confident they will be impressed by our program and our presenters.”

Manager Community & Recreation Development, Sandie Pitter said they were pleased to support the SEAT program due to the positive impact it would have on local children.

“By supporting the SEAT program, we will ensure that Noosa students benefit by hearing first-hand the consequences of bad decisions, and receive practical information on how to keep safe in the water, on the sports field, at home and in the classroom,” said Sandie Pitter.

“To date, more than 80,000 students on the Sunshine Coast have seen a SEAT presentation and we wanted to ensure even more children across the region can benefit from these important messages.”

Approximately 90 Queenslanders incur a spinal cord injury every year with the majority being males aged between 15 and 30 years of age.

SEAT targets school children because they are in – or close to – this high risk age category and over the past two decades has spread valuable safety messages to more than 1.1 million students.

The SEAT program is supported by the Department of Main Road, Disability Services Queensland, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission, the Gambling Community Benefit Fund and Energex.

To book a SEAT presentation at a school or workplace, please visit www.spinal.com.au or phone 1800 810 513.

Issued 30 April 2008.