Kmart and the Center for Injury Prevention to Help Save Kids' Lives
16 November 1999
Kmart and the Center for Injury Prevention to Help Save Kids' Lives with Car Seat Certificate Program TROY, Mich., Nov. 16 -- Child car seats save lives. In fact,
when used correctly, child car seats can reduce the risk of death by 69
percent for infants and by 47 percent for children ages 1 through 4, according
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In recognition of these overwhelming statistics and as part of its ongoing
dedication to the well-being of America's families, Kmart and the Center for
Injury Prevention (CIP) will launch the national Operation Bucklebear(R) Car
Seat Certificate Program.
Through the program, state and local agencies will purchase special
certificates, redeemable at Kmart, from the Center for Injury Prevention and
distribute them to families needing child car seats. Other organizations,
such as hospitals, HMOs and insurance companies will distribute certificates
as incentives and rewards, or as replacements for car seats damaged in
crashes, to families who are expecting babies or have small children.
"Hundreds of agencies had been urging the Center for Injury Prevention to
develop a certificate program for car seats," says CIP Executive Director
Elaine Kizewski. "They needed a more economical and convenient way to
distribute seats to families without having to order in bulk, pay for
warehouse space and move the seats multiple times."
Families receiving the certificates will redeem them at their local Kmart,
Big Kmart or Super Kmart store for one of three Cosco child car seats: an
infant seat (rear-facing), five-point harness convertible seat (rear- and
forward-facing) and the High Back harness/booster seat.
"Kmart is honored to join with the Center for Injury Prevention and Cosco
in this car seat certificate program," says Shawn Kahle, Kmart Vice President,
Corporate Affairs. "With the help of various local and state agencies, there
are many families nationwide who will now be able to provide a new car seat
for their most precious cargo."
To ensure authenticity, each car seat certificate will have a serial
number and must be endorsed by the person to whom it was issued. Certificate-
holding customers simply visit their local Kmart store, pick out the
appropriate car seat and proceed to the Customer Service Desk to process the
transaction.
The Center for Injury Prevention is a national nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting and supporting injury prevention programs. It provides
child car seats, bike helmets, educational programs and many other safety
products at low cost to state and local agencies, HMOs, insurance companies,
hospitals and corporate benefit programs. To contact the CIP about its
Operation Bucklebear(R) Car Seat Certificate Program, call 1-800-344-7580.
Information about child safety issues is offered by the CIP at
http://www.childsafety.org
Cosco, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of child car seats and other
juvenile products and is headquartered in Columbus, Ind. More information is
available about Cosco at http://www.coscoinc.com
Kmart Corporation serves America with 2,159 Kmart, Big Kmart
and Super Kmart retail outlets. In addition to serving all 50 states, Kmart
operations extend to Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More
information about Kmart is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.kmart.com .
To locate the Kmart store nearest you, call 1-800-866-0086.
