HO CHI MINH City, Vietnam - February 14, 2014

Abbott Laboratories and the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation visited 1,094 students at Cau Xang Primary School in Binh Chanh District of Ho Chi Minh City to measure head sizes for an upcoming helmet donation. Cau Xang is one of four schools participating in Helmets for Families, through which Abbott and the AIP Foundation will donate helmets for 4,291 students and 181 teachers. The project will also subsidize or exchange helmets that meet the national standard for the students’ parents.

Helmets for Families aims to raise awareness among students and parents of the safety value of wearing helmets that meet the national standard. By donating free and subsidized helmets, as well as exchanging parents’ substandard helmets for new standard helmets, Abbott and AIP Foundation hope to help parents to role model positive habits of wearing standard helmets for their children.

In the 2013-14 school year, the program is being piloted at four primary schools in Binh Chanh District and District 12 of Ho Chi Minh City. In the next two years, Helmets for Families will be expanded to areas of the Mekong Delta and Hanoi.