Safe Kids San Angelo Hosts Buckle Up Event for Child Safety

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS -- The Safe Kids San Angelo Buckle Up Event yesterday afternoon, encouraged car safety for families in the Concho Valley at the Mitchell Buick-GMC dealership located at 4105 Sherwood Way.

The Texas Department of Transportation, the San Angelo Police Department, and the San Angelo Fire Department were in attendance of yesterday's event, together with the Texas Department of Health Services and representatives from both Shannon and Community Health Centers. 

Catie Wiedenhofer, Safe Kids San Angelo's Coordinator, gave a small speech about the importance of car seat safety for families.

 “We are all coming together because the most precious asset we have in the world is our children.” Wiedenhofer said.

She added that when a community is “up in arms” over the loss of a child’s life, the citizens should come together to bring change.

Over 20 technicians were present to check car seats at the yesterday's event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“[This ensures] San Angelo’s children are riding as safe as possible,” Wiedenhofer said.

The organizations depends on donations to supply families with car seats. The San Angelo Community Health Center and the Concho Valley Regional Trauma Services Area-K were just a few of many, who made car seat donations at the event.

By the end of the afternoon, over a hundred child car seats had been donated, meaning families with two or four kids could get the help they needed to ensure their children's safety.

“Everything that we are doing today [is for] education, but most of the time we find the majority of seats, especially in the West Texas area, are recalled.”

These recalls could happen from the seat being expired, or putting the seat cover in hot and drying conditions, causing the flame retardant to degrade.

Luke Jones, with Mitchell Buick-GMC, is proud to host the event as it helps children stay safe across the Concho Valley.

“[Wiedenhofer] and her team do an outstanding job saving children,” Jones said, “it’s very important to us that this event takes place a couple times a year, and that we provide a location for [Wiedenhofer] and her volunteers.”

If families missed the event, Safe Kids San Angelo's Facebook page can be used to contact Wiedenhofer who, in turn, can set up an car safety check appointment. For more information on other events and what Safe Kids San Angelo does in the community, please follow them on Facebook.