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United Way delivers child safety for families in need

A total of 169 seats will be dropped off at locations throughout the Okanagan
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The Vernon Jubilee Hospital received 10 child car seats to provide to families Thursday, courtesy of United Way and the Paul Docksteader Foundation. United Way’s 2019 Child Safety Initiative distributed a total of 169 seats throughout the Okanagan. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Car seats are a vital safety measure for children, but not all families have room for a new one in their budget. That’s why the United Way is dropping off free seats at locations throughout the valley.

The Vernon Jubilee Hospital was one of more than a dozen North Okanagan organizations to receive child car seats as part of the 2019 Child Safety Initiative by United Way Southern Interior B.C.

Ten seats were dropped off at the hospital on Thursday, and 46 made their way to locations around the North Okanagan-Shuswap region. Throughout the entire valley there are 169 total seats that will be dropped off.

According to Jude Biunt, community investment manager with United Way, the seats are a much needed provision for families today.

“There are around 2,000 kids up and down the valley right now who do not travel in an approved car seat. This is an item you can’t buy second-hand in a thrift store because you don’t know that it’s going to be safe,” said Biunt.

Five per cent of children in B.C. don’t use approved child car seats due to financial struggle, according to a BCAA estimate.

The seats are designed to be durable and can hold a newborn baby and last the child until they’re six to seven years old.

“It’s unfortunately a common occurrence now where people will come in and not have everything they need for their new babies, so it’s really important when a baby is discharged from hospital that they go home in a registered car seat,” said Michelle Rotenburger, patient care coordinator of the hospital’s Women’s and Children’s Health services.

“For those individuals who need a little help and support and maybe don’t have the means to purchase one on their own, this gives us an opportunity to help those families out.”

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“Having a child is probably the biggest challenge of your life,” said Kevin Arbuckle, president of the VJH Foundation. “If we can help (parents) in any way and provide them with a level of comfort knowing that they’re going to leave safely, it’s the least we could do.”

It’s the fourth year of the Child Safety Initiative, but the first year of involvement for Paul Docksteader, whose foundation helped make the seats possible this year.

“I have always loved to get involved in local projects where I can see instantly the difference being made, especially for vulnerable families and kids,” says Docksteader, founder of the Paul Docksteader Foundation.

Docksteader moved to Vernon in 2012 after selling his 85-year, three-generation family car business in Vancouver. He said the partnership was a perfect fit for someone like himself who’s worked in the car industry and who has an interest in supporting children (he was formerly involved with the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice).

The 2019 Child Safety Initiative had 50 per cent more car seats available from the previous year thanks to the Paul Docksteader Foundation and partnerships with the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation, VJH Foundation and corporate sponsor, Kal Tire. The initiative started with just 40 car seats in 2015.

Other Vernon drop-off locations included the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, North Okanagan Youth and Family Services and the Vernon Family Resource Centre.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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