American Family Safety: Young Canadian Entrepreneurs Prepare North American Families for Emergencies.

TORONTO -- Canadian-based American Family Safety initiates Series B financing and prepares for significant expansion in 2006

During the 2003 blackout in Canada and the United States, the Canadian founders of American Family Safety found themselves stranded without adequate supplies such as food, portable radios and flashlight batteries. As they watched people stand in line at stores to buy essentials, they realized that if a blackout could cause such chaos and confusion, a more devastating disaster-such as an earthquake or hurricane-would have even greater consequences.

After experiencing the blackout, Michael Baruch, Morley Ivers and Jared Rabinowitz decided there was a need to help American families better prepare for disasters. In 2004, they successfully raised initial seed capital funding and launched American Family Safety to provide families with the essential tools needed to protect themselves in an emergency. During Series A funding, American Family Safety raised more than $1 million to setup its operating infrastructure and marketing presence.

The company is now embarking on its Series B funding to meet the ever-increasing U.S. demand for emergency preparedness products in both the business-to-business and consumer marketplaces. This financing round will help American Family Safety expand its operations and distribution channels, while increasing margins by sourcing an extended American Family Safety branded product line.

"American Family Safety combines an entrepreneurial vision with a commitment to preparing families and businesses for emergencies or disasters before they happen," said Morley Ivers, president and founder of American Family Safety. "We've experienced substantial market growth since our launch and raising Series B funding is a natural progression to further enhance our vertical product offerings."

The American Family Safety founders developed their entrepreneurial skills as founders or senior level directors in the early growth stages of other companies such as Points.com and College Home Safety.

Robert E.M. Nourse, CEO, Calif.-based Arena Growth Ventures and Chairman of American Family Safety, as well as an adjunct MBA Professor at The Richard Ivey School of Business commented on American Family Safety's Series B funding. "These young Canadians saw a critical need in the United States and used their business acumen to assist neighboring Americans in protecting families in a disaster. American Family Safety is really leading the way in emergency preparedness products and education and the Series B fundraising will set the platform for American Family Safety to operate with greater margins and its own sources of supply."

An independent survey from American Family Safety found that after disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, nearly 50 percent of people surveyed were more concerned about a natural disaster affecting them. However, only 13 percent of those surveyed had purchased an emergency kit with essential supplies. The Department of Homeland Security has emphasized that having a complete disaster readiness kit is the best way to increase chances of survival in an emergency situation.

American Family Safety has successfully marketed the Ready Kit(TM), a convenient, bright-orange backpack that contains items needed to sustain one person for 72 hours in the event of a disaster. The user-friendly kit can be customized to support additional family members. It holds a three-day supply of food and water with a five-year shelf life, so families do not have to worry about spoilage. Additionally, the Ready Kit(TM) meets and exceeds the Department of Homeland Security's requirements for an emergency preparedness kit.

With its consumer-driven focus, American Family Safety donates a percentage of every sale on its Web site to a charitable organization chosen by the customer. In addition to the American Family Safety Web site, www.americanfamilysafety.com, the company distributes its Ready Kits(TM) through student group partnerships, including Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). These organizations sell American Family Safety's emergency kits as fundraisers for their high school's nonprofit organizations.

Families can visit www.americanfamilysafety.com for more information on how to prepare for a disaster or to order an emergency preparedness kit.

About American Family Safety

American Family Safety is a privately held corporation based in Toronto with a wholly owned subsidiary, American Family Safety International, SRL based in Barbados. The organization distributes emergency preparedness education materials and supplies, and markets a 72-hour family emergency preparedness product called the Ready Kit(TM). American Family Safety was created to further the goals of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to equip Americans with the tools and knowledge needed in case of a disaster or emergency. For more information or to order a kit, visit American Family Safety at www.americanfamilysafety.com.