This past week on July 27th and July 30th, Puente along with the San Mateo Health Department, San Mateo County Sheriff and Safe Kids/Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, sponsored a free car seat event for residents of Pescadero, La Honda, Loma Mar and San Gregorio.
According to Safe Kids, child restraint and seat belts, when installed and used properly, can prevent injuries and save lives. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death to children 3-14 in the United States. During 2009, there were a total of 33,803 fatalities. Children under the age of 14 accounted for 1314 deaths. (4%) involved alcohol impaired driving.
In an effort to decrease these numbers and bring awareness to the parents, Puente took leadership and contacted the Health Department to arrange a workshop for parents. On Wednesday July 27, 32 parents attended the mandatory workshop. Those who attended the Wednesday workshop would receive free car seats. On Saturday July 30th, a total of 43 car seats were distributed to 28 families. The seats distributed were infant seats, forward facing seats and booster seats.
Puente hopes to continue this project in the future on a regular basis with smaller groups. Special thanks to: Patrice Christensen from the San Mateo Health Department, Armando Landaverde, Jose Luis Curincita and the team from the San Mateo County Sheriff Department, Ben Arias and the team from Safe Kids/ Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
