When fifth graders Janak Jaini and Kara Satterwhite pull up to the Cold Harbor Elementary School in Mechanicsville, Virginia on Friday, May 1, they won’t be doing so in a big yellow school bus or their parent’s mini-van. Instead, these two lucky students will get a ride in the No. 96 Ask.com Ford Fusion driven by Bobby Labonte.

By teaching their students the importance of cyber safety, the Cold Harbor Elementary School was selected by a Blue Ribbon Panel of experts out of 10 Richmond-area schools to be recognized through the “Ask.com Safe Search Schools” program. Once at the school, the former Cup Series champion will donate $10,000 worth of computers.

With so many dangers on the Internet, schools throughout the nation have taken the effort to educate their students at a young age on how to safely navigate the World Wide Web. As one of the leading search engines, Ask.com has partnered with Web Wise Kids and NASCAR to recognize some of these schools for their efforts to keep kids safe while online.

The two lucky students – Jaini and Satterwhite – were chosen to receive the special ride to school after they submitted a creative entry on how they could learn about Internet safety.

“It’s great to see children my own kids’ ages engaged and really enjoying learning about safely exploring the worlds available to them online,” Labonte pointed out.  “Starting my day by giving a ‘lift’ - literally - to a young boy and girl as honored Cold Harbor Elementary student passengers is a gift in itself, and I look forward to meeting the media specialists and students responsible for such compelling Internet safety program entries.” 

“As the Ask.com Safe Search Schools program reaches Richmond, its third exciting market, we continue to be impressed with the care and enthusiasm elementary school teachers are putting forth to teach young children how to be safe online,” Jim Safka, chief executive officer of Ask.com explained.  “Along with our partners Web Wise Kids and NASCAR, we are proud to sponsor this serious message in the form of a fun program, and look forward to celebrating more school achievements as we spread the word that cyber safety should be taught early and often.” 

The Blue Ribbon Panel – which consists of Jim Safka; Mike Helton, president of NASCAR; Judi Westberg Warren, president of Web Wise Kids; and Bobby Labonte – sifted through 185 entries from ten area schools before choosing Jaini and Satterwhite to receive the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“NASCAR is proud to join Ask.com in this youth-focused program that showcases safety,” Helton added . “Keeping our children safe online is one of the most important issues for parents, teachers and children today. I am impressed with the quality and volume of entries from Richmond-area elementary schools, and salute educators and students alike for their active participation in the Safe Search Schools program.  Congratulations to Cold Harbor Elementary School for its outstanding efforts.”

“We are pleased to partner with Ask.com and NASCAR through this vital recognition program, whose promise of computers for learning, a special day with a NASCAR driver and a donation of Web Wise Kids computer games make for a powerful and fun way to reach both educators and kids with this important message,” Warren said.

This week’s trip to Cold Harbor Elementary School is the third school honored by the Ask.com Safe Search Schools program. Labonte, Ask.com and Web Wise Kids made stops at schools in Atlanta and Dallas earlier this year. A radio and television Public Service campaign has also been launched featuring Labonte, to serve as a way to inform parents on the importance of teaching children proper online safety techniques.

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