Toyota and Cincinnati Children’s to Donate 10,000 Child Car Seats to Families in Need as Part of Child Passenger Safety Education Campaign
Did you know that three out of every four child car seats in the United
States are not used or installed correctly?1 Or that almost
50 percent of children who are fatally injured in motor vehicle crashes
were unrestrained?2 To address this alarming public health
issue and encourage greater safety for child passengers, Toyota and
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have teamed up to launch a
national, online education campaign on Causes.com.
The campaign – at www.Causes.com/Toyota
– invites people to take action online:
-
Watch a short video with tips to properly install a child car seat
-
Share the video with your friends and family
The campaign builds on the success of Toyota’s and Cincinnati Children’s
groundbreaking Buckle Up for Life child safety program in
communities.
In recognition of everyone who participates
in the campaign, Toyota will donate 10,000 child car seats to families
in need.
“While cars and trucks today are safer than they’ve ever been, motor
vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of death in the United
States for children between the ages of one and twelve,” said Patricia
Salas Pineda, group vice president of National Philanthropy and the
Toyota USA Foundation at Toyota Motor North America. “Tragically, so
many of these deaths and injuries could be avoided through the proper
use of child car seats and seat belts. We are pleased to be working with
the visionary medical experts at Cincinnati Children’s to help empower
parents and caregivers to make an even bigger difference in protecting
young passengers, while also bringing thousands of new child car seats
to families in need.”
“The goal of our partnership with Toyota has been to help keep as many
children safe as possible and to educate families on the importance of
properly buckling children up during every ride,” said Dr. Victor
Garcia, founding director of Trauma Services at Cincinnati Children’s,
professor of pediatric surgery and a co-founder of Buckle Up for Life.
“The campaign on Causes.com expands our ability to fulfill this vital
mission and to reach even more people across America with information
that saves lives.”
Toyota and Causes will host a live Twitter chat to help parents learn
valuable tips about child passenger safety. The event will start on Jan.
22 at 2:00 p.m., ET, with certified child passenger safety technicians
from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The technicians will
be available to answer questions, in English and Spanish, about proper
car seat installation and other ways to keep child passengers safe. The
chat will be hosted by Corinne McDermott, family travel expert, Huffington
Post contributor, and founder of Have
Baby Will Travel, a leading website offering travel tips for busy
parents, which regularly addresses child safety issues. Follow @Toyota
and @causes and learn some great tips on how you can #BuckleUpforLife.
About Buckle Up for Life
Buckle Up for Life is a national, community-based injury
prevention initiative developed jointly by vehicle safety experts at
Toyota and trauma specialists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical
Center. Working with local hospitals and churches, Buckle Up for Life
addresses the economic, cultural and, where appropriate, language
barriers to motor vehicle safety.
Over a six-week period, the program’s medical experts and trained
specialists work closely with participants of all ages to deliver vital
safety information in an engaging, culturally sensitive and memorable
way. Participants are matched with certified child passenger safety
technicians to help ensure that children are properly restrained in
child car seats or seat belts.
Buckle Up for Life, which began in 2004 in Cincinnati, was
recently expanded to include local programs in locations across the
United States, including Chicago; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; Los
Angeles, Orange County (Calif.); Philadelphia, Pa.; and San Antonio,
Texas. Additional information is available at www.buckleupforlife.org.
Show your support by downloading the Buckle Up for Life Badge at buckleupforlife.org.
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/buckleupforlife.
About Toyota
Toyota established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently
operates 10 manufacturing plants and has a network of nearly 1,500
dealerships. Toyota directly employs over 30,000 in the United States,
and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion,
including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development,
financial services and design.
Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen and believes in
supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports
numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the
environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than
$600 billion dollars to philanthropic programs in the United States.
For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities
nationwide, visit http://toyotainaction.com/community
or toyota.com/community.
About Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation
among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News and World Report's
2012 Best Children's Hospitals ranking. It is ranked No. 1 for
neonatology and in the top 10 for all pediatric specialties, ranking in
the top five in nine out of 10 specialties ranked. Cincinnati Children's
is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the
National Institutes of Health. It is internationally recognized for
improving child health and transforming delivery of care through fully
integrated, globally recognized research, education and innovation.
Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.
1http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/LATCH/
2http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Research+&+Evaluation/Motor+Vehicle+Occupant+Protection+Facts+(revised+August+
2008)