Operation Baby Buckle
From Summer 1995Volume II, Number 2
The next few years will
almost certainly see a transformation in the roles that government agencies
play in traffic safety and injury prevention. Public health and traffic
safety agencies will be redefining their roles as the nation's health care
system changes with the growth of managed care. Both types of agencies will
have to cope with smaller budgets and fewer resources as government downsizes
and responds to the public's priority of reducing the federal deficit. Increased
collaboration with the private sector is one way that traffic safety and
public health professionals can respond to these changes and generate new
resources.
Fortunately, certain companies are proving themselves not just as willing partners but as leaders taking the initiative in traffic safety activities. One of these leaders is Primerica Financial Services (PFS), a subsidiary of Travelers, Inc. PFS is one of the largest direct marketing companies in the country with more than 100,000 licensed representatives. PFS is the national sponsor of Operation Baby Buckle, a Safe America Foundation Project. Operation Baby Buckle is a nationwide campaign that gives away tens of thousands of child safety seats to families who otherwise might not be able to afford them and educates parents on their correct use.
Operation Baby Buckle uses the volunteer services of PFS agents in
over 35 states to raise money for child safety seats. Fundraisers range
from public events at malls to black-tie dinners, 10-kilometer road races,
golf tournaments, and dinner cruises. In 1994, local Operation Baby Buckle
programs raised over $600,000, which Project Director Len Pagano hopes to
increase to over $750,000 in 1995.
Child seats purchased with monies raised are distributed by local organizations
including hospitals, emergency medical services agencies, neighborhood development
groups, and SAFE KIDS coalitions. In 1994, Operation Baby Buckle
was responsible for the distribution of over 20,000 child safety seats,
all of which were provided at no cost to the recipients. Pagano also explains
that PFS made a conscious choice not to become involved with distributing
the child safety seats, but rather to collaborate with local partners who
had systems in place to identify families who cannot afford child seats.
"We act as kind of the fundraising arm [of these programs] which is
unique. Not too many people go around the country raising money to give
away car seats."
Operation Baby Buckle does not neglect safety education during its
fundraising events. Many of them are also used to educate parents about
the importance of child safety seats as well as their correct use. In Florida,
for example, the local Operation Baby Buckle campaign sets up safety
fairs at local malls. Volunteers solicit donations from the public and sell
buttons and T-shirts. Staff and volunteers from the Children's Advocacy
Center are on hand to educate parents on the correct use of child safety
seats. Sometimes a local law enforcement agency will sponsor a concurrent
bicycle safety rodeo in the mall parking lot, bringing another important
safety message to families and children.
Other corporations are involved with the campaign. Hanna Barbera has authorized
Operation Baby Buckle to use its Flintstones cartoon characters.
Operation Baby Buckle's logo shows Pebbles, the youngest member of
the Flintstone family, in a child safety seat. And at some fundraisers,
a child can have his or her picture taken with a Flintstones character for
a small donation.
General Motors has made a number of large donations for child safety seats
and Century Products provides seats to the program at a discount. Several
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regional offices
and a number of governor's highway safety offices and state health departments
are involved with Operation Baby Buckle, as is the Southeastern Regional
Injury Control Network (featured in the very first issue of Building
Bridges). Pagano says, "We try to have as many corporate names
involved as possible because we think that safety is everybody's business.
The number of people that are needlessly hurt or killed each year impacts
everybody. There are so many costs to a community."
For more information or to locate the Operation Baby Buckle affiliate
nearest you, contact Len Pagano, Operation Baby Buckle, P.O. Box 965308,
Marietta, GA 30066. Phone (404) 497-6153.
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Revised: October 25, 1996
