Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/207624
stunned at his good fortune. "It's great for us." Sterling is just one of the recipients of more than 3,000 brand new child restraints that are being distributed across the province through the Community Child Car Seat Program, a new initiative aiming to target the safety of young passengers. While BCAA had originally planned to donate a total of 1,000 seats this year, the need proved to be so high that the organization tripled its commitment. According to Shawn Pettipas of BCAA, "It is estimated that approximately five per cent of children in B.C. are not transported in a proper child car seat. We also know that these are children who are the most vulnerable passengers in the province." On average, he says, 1,300 children under the age of nine are injured, and three are killed in vehicular incidents in B.C. every year. But, notes Pettipas, "When a car seat is used and installed correctly, it lowers the risk of fatality by 71 per cent and of serious injury by 67 per cent." For Sterling, the two dozen-plus seats he recently received will do more than just keep some of his daycare attendees safer – it will actually enable them to attend the program, which focuses on helping children meet the developmental milestones necessary for success in school. "We provide transportation to the centre," he explains. "For parents that are working...we actually pick the children up and provide breakfast. So transportation has become a big part of our program and service to the families, and car seats play an important role in the type of support we can provide these families." Until now, the centre has been relying on borrowed car seats to shuttle the kids to the centre, but this has had its challenges. "We've been having to make multiple trips because we didn't have the car seats for all the children to be accommodated," he admits. "This way, it just lightens our load and changes our schedule tremendously." Sterling says eight out of the 20 students attending the centre require pick-ups, which means a significant number of car seats left over to hand out to families in the community. "We're just trying to work out how we're going to do that," he says. But it's a puzzle he's thrilled to be solving. • continued on page 34 Excludes alcohol. Dine-in only. Not valid with any other offers coupons or promotions. Excludes parties larger than 10 and corporate functions. East Side Mario's is a registered trade-mark. © 2013 Prime Restaurants Inc. ®Trade-mark CAA logo is owned by and use is granted by Canadian Automobile Association. Westworld p30-34_Community Impact.indd 33 >> winter 2013 33 13-10-25 10:31 AM