Through its philanthropic division, MileOne Autogroup recently announced the expansion of the MileOneCares Car Seat Community Program.
The program’s expansion reinforces the Towson-based company’s commitment to transportation safety and community wellbeing by making car seats accessible to more families throughout Maryland.
MileOne Autogroup will add monthly, large-scale distribution events for expecting parents and parents with babies who are six months of age. The next MileOneCares Car Seat Community Program distribution event will be held this Sunday, Dec. 8, from noon to 2 p.m. at Heritage Toyota Owings Mills, 9801 Reisterstown Road. The event is already at capacity with more than 250 families registered for 300 car seats.
MileOne Autogroup is on track to distribute 2,000 car seats to underserved families by the end of this year, and has the capacity to double that number in 2025.
“Every baby deserves a safe ride,” said Michael Fader, president of MileOne Holdings. “This program represents a significant commitment on our part, but we are proud to take on the responsibility of ensuring that babies in our communities travel safely.”
Since its launch in September of 2022, the program has seen tremendous growth. In partnership with Maryland Kids in Safety Seats and Safe Kids Maryland, families of children of all ages receive training on proper car seat installation and harnessing. Those events, which take place at various MileOne Autogroup locations, serve 20-30 families each.
“As the demand for car seats grew, we knew we had to expand our capacity so we wouldn’t have to turn families away,” said Amanda Kodeck, chief giving officer at MileOne Autogroup. “It became clear that more families needed help than we initially anticipated. This expansion allows us to meet the growing need and ensure that every family expecting a newborn has access to a safe car seat when they need it.”
In addition to the quarterly car seat education and installation events, and now the distribution events, the program provides funding to organizations such as ShareBaby, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, Penn State Children’s Hospital and others, enabling them to supply car seats to even more families in need.
Funds are also used to purchase specialized car seats for children with special needs.
For information about the MileOneCares Car Seat Community Program and to register for future events, visit mileonecares.com/car-seat-community-program.htm.
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