Farm Safety 4 Just Kids Founder Awarded "America's Greatest Hometown Hero"

Volvo announced at the sixth annual Volvo for life Awards ceremony that Marilyn Adams, a pioneer in promoting farm safety, has been named "America's Greatest Hometown Hero" -- the top award given through the largest-ever national search for and celebration of everyday heroes. More than 20 years ago, Adams, 57, faced every mother's greatest fear. Her 11-year-old son, Keith, suffocated in a gravity flow wagon while helping with the first full day of harvest on the family's farm in Iowa. Determined to find a constructive outlet for her grief, she was inspired to create a nonprofit organization working to educate children about farm safety and health. In 1987, Adams founded Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, www.fs4jk.org, and set out on a mission to promote safe farm environments and eliminate farm-related child health hazards, injuries and fatalities. Today, as a result of her work, thousands of volunteers across the United States and Canada help to keep rural kids safe and healthy. Adams received a $100,000 charitable contribution and a new Volvo every three years for the rest of her life in recognition of her accomplishments. Since the inception of the program in 2002, Volvo has awarded millions of dollars in contributions to support the work of everyday heroes. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids' contribution to the farm safety movement has helped to reduce the number of agriculture-related fatalities among children in the United States. Farm families now have additional programs and educational materials highlighting the dangers that children can encounter on farms, and information about how to avoid them. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids now has 137 chapters throughout North America. Through her visits to rural schools, media appearances, testimony before government agencies and in Congress, Adams has spread her farm safety message across the country. www.fs4jk.org