Ford Booster Seat Giveaway Passes 150,000 Milestone
DEARBORN, Mich., July 10 Ford Motor Company today
announced that Boost America!, its $30 million child passenger safety program,
has distributed more than 150,000 free booster seats nationwide since the
campaign's launch just over two months ago on April 30, 2001. This
achievement marks a significant milestone for Boost America! as it moves
toward its goal of putting one million booster seats into use by next summer
to raise awareness of the importance of using belt-positioning booster seats
for children between the ages of four and eight. Ford also announced that
feedback reports from teachers indicate that Ford's Boost America! school
curriculum will reach 35 million children this year.
Boost America! is holding local events in all 50 states to reach parents,
caregivers and children in the communities where they live. Events have
already taken place in South Carolina, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and
Minnesota.
Boost America! is distributing one million free booster seats nationwide
through United Way and its funded agencies, participating Ford Motor Company
dealerships (including Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and
Mazda), and various safety partners. United Way agencies are providing
500,000 seats to low-income families across the country, and Ford Motor
Company and its dealers are giving away 500,000 seats through vouchers
redeemable at Toys "R" Us to its customers. Vouchers for free and discounted
seats are also being distributed by many of Boost America!'s safety partners,
such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, AAA, the Emergency
Nurses Association and the National Urban League, to name a few.
Ford also released today results of a teacher feed-back report on its
Boost America! school program at a hearing on booster seat education at the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The multi-faceted
campaign also includes a massive educational component, featuring a video
starring superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and an endorsement from
Nickelodeon's "Blues Clues," that went out to more than 152,000 elementary and
preschools across the nation. Boost America! is projected to reach more than
13.8 million preschoolers and more than 21.6 million elementary school
students during 2001, for a total projected reach of more than 35 million
students and their families.
Finally, Boost America! continues to push for new state-level booster
seat laws to fill in gaps between existing child safety seat and adult safety
belt laws. When Boost America! was announced in the Spring 2000, only one
state (Washington) had passed a booster seat law. Today, four states have
passed booster seat laws and many other states are currently considering
passage.
Ford Motor Company Vice President Jason Vines recognized the campaign's
achievements thus far, saying, "The dedication and teamwork of the people who
have come together to work on Boost America! is more than inspiring. Since
this effort began in April, at least 150,000 more kids are now riding safely
in their family cars. That's an excellent start. With 45 states to go and
much work to do, the success of the campaign thus far serves as the motivation
we need to continue."
Booster seats provide the necessary safety transition for children who
have outgrown traditional child safety seats but are not big enough to use
adult lap and shoulder safety belts alone. A booster seat raises the child up
so that adult lap/shoulder belts fit and protect better -- snugly across the
chest, and low over the hips. Booster seats are recommended by highway safety
experts for kids four through eight years old -- generally those weighing 40
to 80 pounds. More than 500 children in this age group are killed each year
in motor vehicle crashes and thousands more are seriously injured, according
to data from NHTSA.
More information about Boost America! is available online at
http://www.boostamerica.org or toll free at 1-866-BOOST KID.