Robbins Report

A Baby Center Hosts Child Safety Passenger Program

90% of all child car seats are used or installed improperly

  The ABC (A Baby Center) and some volunteers helping kids. Below is Jeff Larkowski doing his thing and some soccer moms waiting to enter.

Photographs and Story by Peter Robbins

Did you know that 90% of all child car seats are used or installed improperly? This surprising fact was echoed and expounded on with many other interesting and somewhat frightening facts by Jeff Larkowski, Certified Instructor and child car seat technician of the Dennis Police Department and Cape and Islands "EDDY PROJECT", (End Driving Deaths among Youth).

Larkowski, a firefighter paramedic, with the assistance of other certified volunteers, takes this issue very seriously. "Most people are not aware that car seats expire after 6 years, and there are many recalls that people are not aware of if the seat has been passed down from a from a friend or relative."

"People should be aware of this, and they can find out by checking the net at hsrc.unc.edu."

Surprisingly, the site Larkowski suggested contains 12 pages of recalls and or modifications listed by brand and model.

Each inspection and installation of a new seat took about 45 minutes per vehicle. The volunteers worked non-stop, with only occasional breaks for water. While the vehicles were being processed, volunteers from Cape Cod Child Development provided child care services, entertainment and refreshments for the children awaiting their new, properly installed safety seats.

Through donations from Sandwich Jr. Women's Club, Hyannis Honda, and Mr. Dude's Fish and Chips, A Baby Center was able to purchase fifty new car seats and host the program in Hyannis on Saturday from 10am until 12:30pm. With dozens of people participating in the project, each seat was inspected. If the seat did not meet the standards the seat was removed from the vehicle and a brand new one was installed properly by the certified technicians. All of this at no cost to the participants.

A Baby Center, located at 81 Willow Avenue in Hyannis is a program of the Cape Cod Council of Churches. It was established in 2000 after defining the most pressing needs of low income families on Cape Cod and the Islands. Families who qualify according to WIC guidelines are provided with services free of charge. Under the direction of Director Mary Pat Piersons and Program Assistant Tish Friend, and many volunteers, the center provides assistance to some 140 families a week which represent some 500 clients each month.

Supplementing the critical basic needs of its Cape & Islands clients to ensure good health and safety, the center provides these services regardless of religious preference or lack thereof, they simply provide aid to children in need.

SEATS STILL AVAILABLE

Time would not allow for the evaluation and installation of all in need. Those unable to be serviced on Saturday, may contact A Baby Center to make an appointment for an evaluation and installation of a new seat on a case by case basis. According to Program Assistant Tish Friend, "This has been a tremendous success and we are hopeful it can be a quarterly event." Program Director Mary Pat Piersons was sincerely touched by the success of the program, you could see it in her eyes and her manner of greeting and attending to the needs of the parents and children. She was quick to credit Tish Friend and volunteer Kate O'Connell for organizing the event.

A special thanks to the following certified technician volunteers participating in the project:

• Jeff Larkowski, Dennis Fire Department
• Jeff Lamothe, Hyannis Fire Department
• Jayne Pierce, Cotuit Fire Department
• Rich Scherbarth, Centerville/Osterville Fire Department
• Kathleen Mie, Dennis Police Department
• Phil Tura, Bourne Fire Department
• Marcia Smith and Paula Slack, South Shore Hospital
• Charleen Oakley, National Highway Safety Administration

HOW CAN YOU HELP

You can contact A Baby Center in Hyannis at (508)771-8157, and check them out at www.ababycenter.org for more information. Over the past year the center has received financial assistance from the Community Foundation of Cape Cod, Catumet Boats, Cape Cod Five Center Saving Foundation, Cape Cod & Islands United Way, the Davenport Foundation, the Strazzula Foundation, Rotary Clubs and many local garden clubs and businesses. A Baby Center's needs for assistance are increasing every day. The center accepts donations of gently used infant and toddlers clothing, cribs and related baby products and accessories. Financial donations to purchase diapers, wipes and formula are presently at a critical level. 15,000 diapers are distributed each month, and the need appears to be increasing.