The McLeod Health Foundation is pleased to announce receipt of a $69,240 grant from the Honda USA Foundation for the Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal initiative “McLeod Keeping Kids Safe on the Move.”
The grant will enable Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal led by McLeod Health, a chapter of Safe Kids Worldwide, to further its mission of reducing preventable injuries to children from the midlands to the coast. It will also allow the organization to emphasize the importance of improving safety on South Carolina’s roads and waterways.
“Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal has focused on the safety of our region’s children for more than 25 years. Literally, generations of children have been given a better chance to grow up and thrive thanks to Safe Kids,” said Angie Dillon, Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal Coordinator. “We are able to provide these valuable services because of generous donors like the Honda USA Foundation.”
Building on the success of a previous grant from the Honda USA Foundation, the new grant will help provide a two-pronged strategy to make children in the region safer.
Due to the region’s rural population and residents who are living below the poverty level, direct material assistance will continue including distribution of free car seats and bicycle/skateboard/ ATV helmets to underserved families.
This year’s grant will also create a new 500-unit youth lifejacket station in Surfside Beach in partnership with Fire/EMS. Located at a popular boat landing, boaters can acquire a safety pamphlet and check out/return lifejackets at no cost, thus reducing the chance of accidental drowning.
The second important part of the strategy is education of community members, which will occur in three areas:
Providing public safety events such as car seat checks and boating safety events, where residents can not only learn safe practices, but receive free safety equipment and have car seats installed by certified technicians.
Training of certified safety technicians for a community that lacks them. These will not only include car seat safety technicians, which were the focus of the previous grant, but will also include certified lifeguards.
Recertification of existing technicians and training of certified safety instructors to compound the accessibility of competent safety officials. Through this effort, the increase in the ranks of certified safety experts available to the region will be perpetuated.
Quote from Honda USA Foundation — The Honda USA Foundation gives back to the communities where our associates live and work through grant awards. The Honda USA Foundation supports organizations and programs that align with our pillar award categories of Education, Environment, Mobility and Traffic Safety.
“The McLeod Health Foundation and Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal led by McLeod Health are grateful for Honda USA Foundation’s continued support and partnership which invests in the safety of our region’s greatest asset, our children,” said Elizabeth Jones, Executive Director, McLeod Health Foundation.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility and the Honda USA Foundation
For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. Honda’s mission is to create products and services that help people fulfill their life’s potential, while conducting business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Advancing its corporate social responsibility, Honda and the Honda USA Foundation support this direction through giving focused on education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety and community. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.
About McLeod Health Foundation
The McLeod Foundation was established in 1986 as an independent not for profit tax exempt charitable organization whose mission is to generate philanthropic and community support to perpetuate medical excellence at McLeod Health. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Foundation has raised more than $100 million and has provided support for numerous programs at McLeod Health. These programs include support for the McLeod Children’s Hospital, The Guest House at McLeod, McLeod Hospice, the McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research, McLeod Heart and Vascular Institute and McLeod Diabetes Services, just to name a few. Simply put the Foundation funds better health for thousands of families throughout Northeastern South Carolina and Southeastern North Carolina. Separately chartered, the McLeod Health Foundation is governed by a voluntary Board of Trustees. Gifts to the McLeod Foundation are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law and 100 percent of every gift received goes directly to the area it is designated.
