Operation Lifesaver, Inc. opens applications for 2015 Rail Transit Safety Education Grants
WASHINGTON, DC, August 6, 2015 – Operation Lifesaver, Inc., (OLI) today announced that the application period is open for its Rail Transit Safety Education Grants, which offer a total of $150,000 in funding for transit agencies and other local governmental entities to conduct rail transit safety education and public awareness initiatives.
“As part of our ongoing partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, Operation Lifesaver is pleased to announce its call for applications for 2015 Rail Transit Safety Education Grants,” said OLI President and CEO Joyce Rose. “Operation Lifesaver’s public information, education and outreach model is a proven, effective way to improve safety around transit systems.”
Rose noted that grant amounts are capped at $20,000 and require non-federal matching funds of at least 25 percent. Projects must be focused on safety education or public awareness initiatives in communities with rail transit systems (e.g., commuter rail, light rail, subway and streetcar). OLI must approve all materials, and all grants must be coordinated with state Operation Lifesaver programs. Contact information for State Coordinators throughout the U.S. is available at: http://oli.org/state_coordinators/.
All applications must be submitted via OLI’s Common Grant Application online grant processing program by Monday, August 31, 2015. Grant awards will be announced in September.
Examples of transit safety grant projects funded by the program in 2014 include: a campaign by the City of Atlanta to educate Georgia State University students about a new streetcar route; rail safety awareness education among the homeless population near the Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Trinity Railway Express rights-of-way; and New Jersey Transit’s efforts to increase collision prevention and raise awareness of unsafe pedestrian and vehicular behavior near trains, tracks and stations throughout its system.
“Operation Lifesaver is grateful to the Federal Transit Administration for the agency’s ongoing support that helps make these grants, as well as rail safety education outreach efforts like our ongoing See Tracks? Think Train! campaign possible,” Rose concluded.
Additional information about the 2015 grants is available online. Potential applicants seeking further details may contact Sarah Kline, OLI National Transit Safety Education Consultant, phone (202) 679-2280.
About Operation Lifesaver
Operation Lifesaver's mission is to end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad rights of way. A national network of trained volunteers provides free presentations on rail safety. Learn more at http://www.oli.org; follow OLI on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
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