On Saturday, June 19th, from 10am to pm, the Geary family will hold the Second Annual “Click It for Cassie” Softball Tournament at Calf Pasture in Norwalk. The public is invited to cheer for one of the twelve local teams that will be competing, while enjoying hotdogs, hamburgers and all kinds of baked goods made by several of Cassie’s friends. Proceeds will go to the Click It for Cassie Foundation.
Founded in 2008 by Anne and Tom Geary, Norwalk residents and business owners of the Geary Gallery on Boston Post Road in Darien, the foundation was begun to bring attention to the importance of wearing seat belts and the lives it can save. In 2008, the Geary’s 17-year-old daughter, Cassie, lost control of her car in bad weather and was killed due to blunt trauma injuries because she wasn’t wearing her seat belt. If she had been, police told her parents, she would have walked away with just a bump on her head. The Geary family has been actively involved in bringing the importance of wearing seatbelts to drivers, especially young ones, as statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34.
The “Click It for Cassie” bumper sticker in the shape of a seatbelt can be seen as an attention getting reminder on thousands of cars throughout Southwestern Connecticut, and they are working to spread the message around the country. The bumper sticker is their attempt to slow down the senseless loss of life from not wearing seatbelts.
In Tom Geary’s recent speech at the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s kick off of National “Click It or Ticket Week” he stated, “If our seatbelt awareness campaign helps just one person walk away from an otherwise deadly accident, it makes us feel that Cassie is working with us and did not die in vain.” In fact, their message did just that in 2009 when four of Cassie’s classmates and “Click It for Cassie” volunteers walked away from an SUV accident in which it rolled over. There were no serious injuries, as all were wearing their seatbelts.
The public is encouraged to join with Cassie’s classmates, friends and like-minded neighbors for an old-fashioned family-friendly Softball tournament on Saturday the 19th to enjoy hamburgers, hotdogs and home-made desserts. For more information about the event, contact Tom Geary at 205-515-1058 or to make a donation to the foundation in Cassie’s name, visit www.clickitforcassie.com.
