Every Child Deserves
a Safe Ride

Help Make It Happen

KidSafe needs your help to keep growing and providing the safety seat that can save a child’s life in an automobile crash.

Saving Children’s Lives

Providing Child Safety Seats to Families in Need

What We Do

KidSafe SAVES LIVES

KidSafe plays an important role in helping to reduce childhood injuries and death in the local communities of the Big Bend area of North Florida by providing adaptable safety seats to families with low incomes. The Safety Seat we use meets all safety standards and adapts to the growth requirements of the child from 5 to 100 pounds. Each seat costs the agency $125.

KidSafe IS PROVIDING VEHICLE SAFETY AWARENESS AND EDUCATION
Look Before You Lock
Having the right safety seat is the first step in protecting a child.  However, having the set installed and the child secured correctly and knowing when to change the orientation of the seat, as the child grows are also important.  KidSafe provides child safety seat education to parents of young children through educational materials and outreach events.  We have two Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians who can demonstrate proper installation and provide education. Thanks to generous grants from St. John’s Episcopal Church Market and 4Imprint, LOOK BEFORE YOU LOCK window clings are available from our partner agencies, pediatrician offices and other events.  The cling reminds parents to never leave a child in the back seat.  This is an important habit to develop, especially in Florida where 6 children died in 2023 from HOT CAR heat exhaustion. Florida ranked #2 in the nation for Hot Car Deaths in 2023. Even if you are sure your child isn’t in the back seat, check anyway. Most of these tragedies are unintended and the result of faulty memory or miscommunication.

In 2023, KidSafe provided 161 new Child Safety Seats for local children.

0 %

of those children belonged to a racial or ethnic minority group (Black, Asian, Hispanic, Multi-Race).

0 %

of those children lived in families whose incomes were below 135% of the Federal Poverty Level.

0 %

of those children lived in families whose incomes were below the Federal Poverty Level (Extremely Low Income).

0 %

of those children lived in families of single moms.

Why It Matters

Every single week
children are treated in emergency rooms
0
children are hospitalized
0
children die in vehicle crashes
0

NO FAMILY SHOULD HAVE TO ENDURE THE PAIN OF LOSING A CHILD WHEN IT CAN BE PREVENTED!
AND IT IS PREVENTABLE!
The use of Child Safety Seats can reduce the number of fatalities by as much as 71%. – 2020 CDC Statistics

KidSafe Family Stories

Who We Are?

Board of directors and staff
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Board Members
Staff
Our Vision is that all children ride safely to the experiences they need to grow into their full potential.

KidSafe is the “doing business as” name of Lutheran Social Services of North Florida, Inc.

The agency began in 1989 as a social ministry of Epiphany Lutheran Church and Pastor Bernard Kurzwig with the mission to develop and administer programs to address unmet social service needs in North Florida. Over the years, the agency has undertaken a variety of programs as unmet needs have been identified in the community.

In 2017, the KidSafe Program was the agency’s answer to a plea from several child/family-centered agencies that lacked the resources to provide this service in the community. No other resources were available to provide child safety seats to protect children living in families with low incomes. Since that time, KidSafe has grown and continues to grow, validating the need for the program.

KidSafe Community Partners

KidSafe works collaboratively with partner agencies, distributing new high quality child safety seats to families being served by the agencies. These partner agencies verify the financial need of the family and request a safety seat. In this way, KidSafe does not duplicate any service but adds an important resource to the local network of child and family agencies in the community. The current collaborating partners include:

What's New

Events
Updates
Safety Tips

Engage

How Can You Help?
HOST A FUNDRAISER

for a special occasion such as a birthday, baby shower, or just to get a group of friends together and request a donation to KidSafe instead of a gift. We will provide you with information and post your event here and on our facebook page.

“FOLLOW” OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND “SHARE” WITH “FRIENDS”

To expand awareness of KidSafe and the issue of Child Passenger Safety.

DELIVER SAFETY SEATS TO PARTNER AGENCIES

The boxes for the car seats are large so you will need a larger vehicle to accommodate at least 4 seats.

HELP WITH EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND FUNDRAISING EVENTS
JOIN OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Contact us at [email protected] for more information about these opportunities.

Contact Details

KidSafe
PO Box 1254, Tallahassee, FL 32302