DENNY’S LAUNCHES STATEWIDE “KID’S SAFETY ZONE” CAMPAIGN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH VIA THE SAFE KIDS COALITION

ORLANDO, FL – Joining America’s largest family restaurant chain, local and state public officials gathered today in Orlando to launch the Denny’s Kid’s Safety Zone campaign. Denny’s is partnering with the Florida Department of Health via the SAFE KIDS Florida Coalition to bring the year-long, statewide children’s safety awareness campaign to the residents of Florida.

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of and disability among children ages 14 and under. This year in Florida alone, 250,000 children will be treated for injury in an emergency room; 7,000 of these children will be injured seriously enough to be admitted to the hospital. Recognizing the critical importance of injury prevention and safety education, the Denny’s Kid’s Safety Zone is designed to help educate Florida parents and families about key safety issues affecting children.

“Denny’s is thrilled to bring this first-of-its-kind campaign to the residents of Florida,” said Craig Herman, Senior Vice President, Company Operations. “We envision the Kid’s Safety Zone as an opportunity to teach children ways to be smarter and safer citizens by providing Florida’s parents with the tools needed to help educate their families.”

Tying into Denny’s popular children’s menu, known as the D-Zone, the Denny’s Kid’s Safety Zone enables Denny’s to serve as a conduit for distributing child safety information and materials. The program features children’s activity books, each focused on one of four key safety issues including people/strangers, automobiles, home and water, each of which is offered in English and Spanish. With more than 160 restaurants in Florida, Denny’s is the primary dissemination point for campaign materials related to each key safety topic. A new safety topic will be introduced each quarter and a corresponding activity book will be available in Denny’s restaurants while supplies last.

“The prevention of al childhood injury is one of the Florida Department of Health’s most important endeavors,” said Florida Secretary of Health M. Rony François, M.D., M.S.P.H., Ph.D. “Through the Safe Kids Florida Coalition, the Department has made significant progress to inform Floridians and their children of the importance of injury prevention. This Kid’s Safety Zone campaign with Denny’s has helped to extend the Department’s efforts to establish a culture of safety across the state of Florida.”

To celebrate the campaign and the launch of the first topic, “I’m Smart About People,” local Orlando residents enjoyed a “Kid’s Safety Zone Fair” that featured safety demonstrations by groups including Safe Kids Florida, The Children’s Safety Village of Central Florida, local police and fire departments, the Florida Department of Health and Orange County Department of Health. Children’s safety experts conducted car seat inspections, created free child identification cards and distributed health and safety information. Denny’s locations throughout the state of Florida intend to host community focused educational events for the duration of the campaign. Denny’s restaurants are currently offering “I’m Smart About People” activity books.

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About Denny’s:
Denny’s is America’s largest full-service family restaurant chain, consisting of 547 company-owned units and 1,038 franchised and licensed units, with operations in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. The company’s stock is traded under the ticker “DENN,” and additional information is available on Denny’s web site at www.dennys.com.

About Florida Department of Health via the SAFE KIDS Florida Coalition:
Safe Kids Florida’s mission is to prevent al childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) is the lead agency for Safe Kids Florida. For more information, please visit the DOH Web site at www.doh.state.fl.us or www.safekids.org.