New Grant Awarded for Mobile Unit of Passenger Safety Seat Program of the Lee Memorial Health System

"The mobile unit will enable us to inspect more child safety seats throughout Lee and Collier county, to keep children safe, and to educate parents, grandparents, and care providers on the importance of a properly installed child passenger safety seat,"

The statement above came from Michele King, the director of the Child Advocacy, The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. The hospital, part of the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation recently announced that it received a grant of $10,000 from the The League Club, Inc. The money will be used to purchase a mobile unit for the Hospital’s Child Passenger Safety Seat Program.

"Without the grant from The League Club, Inc. we would have been unable to purchase the mobile safety unit this year,"

Who is The League Club, Inc.?

From their site,

The League Club, Inc. is a nonprofit organization of women strengthening communities through fellowship, education, volunteerism and philanthropy. The League Club supports the community financially through its Community Trust Fund, having awarded grants totaling nearly $2 million to nonprofit agencies in Collier and Lee counties since 1987. For more information please visit us at www.theleagueclub.org.

As we know, proper installation of car seats is vital for the child’s safety in the car. With statistics telling us that 80 percent or more of car seats are improperly installed, programs like that by the hospital is quite important to educate parents and caregivers. Good thing for the League Club to step up and help out. Thanks to them, with the mobile unit, the hospital can reach out to more people.

For residents in the Lee and Collier county area in Florida, the hospital’s program provides free car seat inspections at day care centers, safety fairs, and other agencies including the Guadalupe Center, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, the YMCA and the Child Advocacy Center of Collier County. As the lead agency for the Safe Kids Lee/Collier Coalition, the Children's Hospital's child advocacy program staff are responsible for the recording and reporting of the related data to the Florida Department of Transportation and to Safe Kids Worldwide.

"We are pleased to make this grant supporting the Children's Hospital", said Trig Cooley, The League Club, Inc.'s 2009 Civic Involvement Committee Chair, who oversaw the grant selection process.