McLEOD SAFE KIDS 23 MAY 2011

(5/23/11) – Safe Kids Florence, led by McLeod Health, will host its third Kohl’s Cares® Safe Seats at the Beach on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

The child safety seat check will take place from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in the Myrtle Beach Kohl’s parking lot.

The program offers free child safety seat checks, as well as a limited number of free child safety seats to the community. McLeod Health hosts a Safe Seats event at Kohl’s in Florence every third Thursday of the month.

The first Safe Seats at the Beach program was held in November 2010 and will be a quarterly event. "Through this program, it is Safe Kids Florence’s expectation that we will drastically decrease the number of child injuries in Horry County due to improper use of child safety seats," says Erin Faile, McLeod Community Education Coordinator.

McLeod Safe Kids received a grant of more than $25,000 from Kohl’s Cares® in November of 2008, which initiated the Third Thursday program. Since that time, Safe Kids has checked more than 600 seats and provided nearly 590 child safety seats to those in need at the Florence Kohl’s events.

McLeod Safe Kids certified car seat technicians are on site at each event. Each child safety seat technician follows a child passenger safety checklist of child safety seat qualifications to ensure the safety of each child. For more information, please call Safe Kids Florence at (843) 777 – 2592.

The technicians check proper installation of child safety seats, correct those in need, and educate on proper installation and use. The technician will determine if a new child safety seat is needed. If so, one per family is available while supplies last.

To date, Kohl’s has donated more than $91,200 to McLeod Health. Other McLeod Health programs supported through Kohl’s include the McLeod Children’s Hospital Radiothon and Children’s Miracle Network Celebration Broadcast.

Kohl’s commitment to McLeod Health is made possible through the Kohl’s Cares philanthropic initiative. Kohl’s Cares® includes a merchandise program featuring $5 books and plush toys where 100 percent of net profits go toward supporting hospital partnerships. Kohl’s has raised more than $150 million dollars through this merchandise program. In addition, Kohl’s Cares® features a scholarship program, which recognizes more than 2,100 young volunteers with a total of $410,000 in scholarships and prizes this year; the Associates in Action program, which encourages associate volunteerism and provided more than $10 million in grants to youth-focused nonprofit organizations last year alone; and fundraising gift cards for schools and youth-serving organizations.

For more information, visit www.kohlscorporation.com.

Safe Kids Florence

Safe Kids Florence, led by McLeod Health, works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading cause of death for children ages 14 and under.

Safe Kids Florence is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury.

Safe Kids Florence is funded in part by the McLeod Health Foundation.