Graco^®, K.I.D.S. and Caring For Others Partner to Provide Strollers, Booster Seats and Car Seat Safety to 500 Families in Need

Posted by Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S) - 2/10/12

Partnership to Celebrate Child Safety Day on February 11

New York, NY- February 10, 2012 – In recognition of Child Safety Day, Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), the internationally renowned children’s charity, today announced a partnership with Graco Children’s Products and Caring For Others (CFO) to provide critical children’s essentials to families in need. The partnership will host an event on February 11 to bring new strollers, booster seats and car safety education to 500 needy families throughout the state of Georgia.

“K.I.D.S and Caring for Others are such incredible organizations, and we’re proud to be a part of the great work that they do,” said Laurel Hurd, General Manager, North America at Graco Childrens Products. “At Graco, child safety is our top priority, so it’s a natural fit to get involved with Child Safety Day. We hope the new strollers and car seats will help make it a little easier for these families to care for their children each day. We look forward to our continued partnership with both K.I.D.S and Caring for Others in the future.”

“We are truly gratified to be working with Graco and Caring for Others to bring needed essential product to the children and families of Atlanta and the Atlanta metropolitan region,” said Janice Weinman, K.I.D.S. president. “K.I.D.S. has established six regional centers around the country where we send product first, and Caring for Others is one of these invaluable partners. Both the service that CFO performs and the generosity that Graco has exhibited make us feel proud to be part of this cherished partnership. This is only the beginning of a collective effort to ensure that all children can grow up safe and healthy.”

“We are so happy about this new partnership,” added Caring for Others Founder and CEO Eslene Richmond-Shockley. “There is a dire need for baby and children furniture and accessories that we often have difficulty filling. We never know what a child will grow up to be in life. But we do know we can ensure they grow up safely and well. In days gone by, children were placed on car seats or held in their mothers’ arms: accidents could kill. Today, seatbelts, car seats and booster seats are vital in saving children’s lives.”

According to the most recent census, 22 percent of American children live at or below the poverty line. Many of these families are unable to purchase new, safe and useable baby seats and other juvenile gear necessary to provide a comfortable and healthy developmental period for their children. Within the state of Georgia, the courts have already given out hundreds of citations to families who do not have booster seats in their cars because of their inability to purchase them.

The event will take place from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Caring for Others, the premiere social service agency in Atlanta and the Atlanta Metropolitan area for families in need. Attending the event will be the Atlanta Community Court Judge Sloan, the Atlanta Fire Chief, Laurel Hurd, General Manager/North America, Newell Rubbermaid’s Baby & Parenting Global Business Unit, and Dr. Janice Weinman, president of K.I.D.S., which works with product donors and local agencies to ensure that new merchandise is distributed to families in need throughout the United States.

About Graco Children’s Products
Graco Children’s Products, part of Newell Rubbermaid’s global portfolio of brands, is a leading innovator of baby and children’s essentials. For more than 50 years Graco has built trusted, quality and helpful products including car seats, strollers, travel systems, swings, highchairs, playards and nursery care essentials. For more information about Graco and its products, please visit www.gracobaby.com.

About K.I.D.S.
Since its inception in 1985, K.I.D.S. has provided 67 million underprivileged and disaster-struck children with over one billion dollars of NEW clothing, toys, basic necessities, juvenile products, books and much more. The donations of new products are distributed through an established network of nearly 1,000 local community social service agencies in the U.S. and abroad. K.I.D.S.’ efforts reach youth, age 0-18, and their families who are challenged by poverty, homelessness, domestic abuse, low literacy, military family service, major illness, incarcerated family members and disaster survival. For more information on donating new products and supporting our work, please visitwww.KIDSdonations.org.

About Caring for Others, Inc.
Caring For Others, Inc. (CFO) (501c3) is a homelessness prevention organization established in November 2001 to facilitate personal dignity and provide basic necessities to economically disadvantaged individuals, senior citizens, the disabled, the unemployed and families with children. For more information, visit www.caring4others.org.