CHAMBERSBURG – To support children and safe sleep, WellSpan is donating cribettes and safety equipment for children to a dozen local shelters through our Spotlight on Children’s Health initiative.
This $10,000 investment across central Pennsylvania will provide essential safety items, including baby gates, tubs, medication lock boxes and 71 safe-sleep cribettes, mesh-sided beds with an elevated sleeping pad that look like a small playpen.
While there were 71 total distributed to 12 organizations across central Pennsylvania, WellSpan contributed cribettes to the following organizations local to WellSpan’s west region, which includes but is not limited to Franklin County:
o South Central Community Action Programs Shelters in Franklin County
o Waynesboro New Hope Shelter
o Agape House in Gettysburg
o SCCAP Shelters in Adams County
o Changing Lives Shelter (Hanover Area Council of Churches)
In addition to benefiting nearby, materials were sent to homeless shelters throughout central Pennsylvania.
In York County alone, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness and families over the last three years, with a significant increase among children ages 5 and younger. WellSpan spokesman said the company will continue to connect with local shelters to understand their capacity and needs for serving families with children.
In addition to providing physical safety equipment, WellSpan will also distribute information on the ABCs of Safe Sleep to parents and caregivers, promoting safe sleep practices for young children staying in shelters. Those letters stand for Alone, on Back and in a Crib.
These items and educational materials are in addition to the hundreds of families reached annually through WellSpan’s involvement in the Cribs for Kids program. Together, these programs aim to enhance safe sleep in communities served by WellSpan. Readers may learn more about WellSpan’s Spotlight on Children’s Health initiative here. Additionally, WellSpan just announced its largest community grant investment in housing initiatives to date with $3.5 million going to local organizations to help address housing challenges across central Pennsylvania.
