SAFE KIDS Coalitions Takes Child Passenger Safety To The Streets
St. Louis SAFE KIDS Coalition Awarded New Mobile Car Seat Checkup Van to Educate Families And At-Risk Communities About Buckling Up Children on Every Ride
(Wentzville, MO) -SAFE KIDS St. Louis and its lead agency SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital will become the proud recipients of a brand new 2002 Chevy Express Cargo Van, tomorrow at the GM Wentzville Assembly Center. The Chevy Express Cargo Van is equipped with everything needed to conduct mobile child safety seat checkup events, including tents, traffic safety cones and signage. SAFE KIDS St. Louis and sister coalition, SAFE KIDS St. Charles County, will use the van to promote child passenger safety in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The van is one of 30 donated to SAFE KIDS coalitions by the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources and the General Motors Corporation, sponsors of SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP®, a national child passenger safety program developed by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign®.
All 30 of the vans being donated were produced at GM's Wentzville Assembly Center in Wentzville, MO. "We are thrilled that GM and the UAW are providing these vehicles to SAFE KIDS. We are even more excited that all 30 of the vans that are being donated were made right here at Wentzville Assembly Center," says Mike Camp, Plant Manager at GM Wentzville.
The new vehicles join the existing fleet of 51 Chevy Venture vans donated by GM in 2000 that have traveled across America conducting child safety seat checkup events in every state.
"This is great news for parents and caregivers in the St. Louis area, and we can't wait to get the van on the road," said Carla Sauerwein, coalition co-coordinator. "We know families can't always attend a child safety seat checkup, but with this new van we're taking child passenger safety directly to them at places like community events, safety fairs and shopping centers. The opportunities are endless!"
"The members of the UAW Local 2250 are hard working men and women, who care about each other and our community," says Bill Schiltz, chairman of UAW Local 2250, which represents hourly workers at GM Wentzville. Today's event is one more example of our employees' commitment to support our community."
The exteriors of the fully equipped Chevy Express Cargo Vans feature colorful backgrounds and graphics of children in various types of child safety seats. "We hope that when parents see the colorful van on the roadways, their thoughts will turn to making sure their children are properly buckled up," said Sauerwein.
The interiors consist of custom-made compartments designed to conveniently store all of the equipment and accessories needed for a traveling child safety seat checkup. Each van is valued at $45,000.
"Thanks to the generosity of the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources and General Motors, we're able to expand the van program to serve even more communities across the country," stated Karen DiCapua, director of child passenger safety at the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.
"This eye-catching new van will serve as an invaluable resource in the St. Louis & St. Charles SAFE KIDS Coalitions' ongoing efforts to protect child passengers."
Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under. Each year, more than 1,700 children are killed and another 264,000 are injured as occupants of motor vehicles.
In the St. Louis area, three families credit the SAFE KIDS car seat installation program with saving the lives of 3 children. SAFE KIDS links families seeking free car seat installations to trained coalition member fire or police departments for "check up" appointments. Families can call SSM-DOCS for this life-saving information at (314-776-3627 or 866- 776-3627).
A recent national survey of child restraint use in America by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign found that 33 percent of children were riding in the wrong type of restraint for their age and size and another 14 percent were riding completely unrestrained.
The National SAFE KIDS Campaign's multi-million dollar SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program includes free Car Seat Check Up events at participating GM dealerships and at various community venues in partnership with the UAW-GM CHR, bilingual educational materials, a public service campaign, educational workshops for dealership personnel and other community members, and millions of dollars in local grants to allow SAFE KIDS coalitions to take this most important service to the public. Last year, the UAW-GM CHR and GM dedicated an additional $8 million to SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP for a total program commitment of more than $26 million.
For more information, call the SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP toll-free hotline at 800 441-1888 to receive a free brochure or to find a child safety seat checkup near you. You can also visit SAFE KIDS on the Web at www.safekids.org. SAFE KIDS St. Louis can be reached at (314) 612-5770. SAFE KIDS St. Charles County can be reached at (636) 970-9704.
SAFE KIDS St. Louis and SAFE KIDS St. Charles County are part of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the first and only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury -- the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. More than 300 state and local SAFE KIDS coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico comprise the Campaign. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., is chairman of the Campaign.
SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP® is a national program developed by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and sponsored by the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources (CHR) - a joint institution of the UAW and GM - and the General Motors Corporation to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of properly restraining children on every ride.
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) is one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America, with members in virtually every sector of the economy. The union has approximately 740,000 members and over 500,000 retired members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The UAW represents 130,000 hourly and salaried workers at General Motors.
General Motors operates 78 plants in the U.S. and employs 185,000 hourly and salaried workers in the U.S. GM is the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, assembling cars and trucks in the United States under the following brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, and Hummer.
The UAW-GM Center for Human Resources (CHR) was jointed established in 1986 to meet the education and training needs of UAW-represented workers at General Motors. The Center has become one of the world's largest privately operated training centers, serving the needs of over 130,000 UAW active and retired employees of General Motors. From its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, the Center offers a wide variety of programs addressing: occupational health and safety and wellness, skill development and education, work-family issues, product quality, and programs that benefit the communities in which UAW members and retirees work and reside.
