Martial Arts Academy Opens Doors For Special Child Safety Community Event

PRLog (Press Release) – May 12, 2008 – Elkton, Maryland – ATA Martial Arts in Elkton held a community Child Safety Open House on Saturday May 10th. The Open House was part of ATA Martial Arts’ worldwide initiative to help minimize the risk of child abduction through education. Over sixty families from the Elkton area participated in the day's festivities. ATA instructors taught an abduction education program called “Kidz 'n Power” which included activities such as simple break-away self-defense instruction, role playing with possible stranger dangers, methods to deal with bullies and child ID cards and fingerprinting. Mayor Joseph Fisona of Elkton and Singerly Chief Frank Lewis were in attendance to share information regarding other types of safety concerns. Mayor Fisona was awarded an Honorary Black Belt from ATA for his support and continued leadership in the community.

As part of the safety campaign, ATA has partnered with AMBER Alert.com to increase AMBER Alert notification via e-mail and personal communication devices. Once an AMBER Alert is issued, AMBER Alert.com uses state-of-the-art technology to notify its subscribers of a missing child in a specific area.

According to local ATA instructor Jason Morgan, education is the key to child
safety. “Children of all age, gender and race are vulnerable to child abduction. Through age appropriate instruction, awareness of warning signs and ID activities such as fingerprinting, collectively ATA schools around the world hope to have a significant impact on reducing the risk of child abduction and victimization”, says Morgan. "It is my goal to have every child and family in Cecil County participate in this safety training. I am looking for support from local businesses and organizations to help bring this to an even larger scale."

ATA Martial Arts offers a variety of programs focusing on safety, including ATA Tiny Tigers for children ages 3-6, Karate for Kids, and the newest program, ATA-Xtreme, which combines martial arts with gymnastics and dances moves. For more information on ATA Martial Arts, contact Jason Morgan at 410-398-8624 to reach Jason Morgan or jason.morgan@ata-owner.com. To sign-up to receive AMBER Alerts, visit www.amberalert.com.