beneficiaries

Rainbow Fleet

$11,750
HEALTH AND WELLNESS

“Mobile Training and Lending Program”

On April 6, 2015, Ali and Derek Dodd faced the unimaginable. After dropping their 11-week-old son off at a family daycare in Edmond, they went about their day. A few short hours later, Ali received the call every parent fears. Their son, Shepard, was not breathing. After being swaddled and placed in a car seat to sleep, he wiggled down in the seat and suffocated. By the time paramedics arrived, nothing could be done. Shepard’s death was 100% preventable. Had the child care provider been properly trained in safe sleep practices, Shepard would still be alive today.

Rainbow Fleet’s child development specialists are trained in safe sleep practices, first aid/CPR, accident and disease prevention and many other vital skills. Unfortunately, many child care providers cannot come to Rainbow Fleet. Through the purchase of a cargo van, we will take hands-on training, resources and developmentally-appropriate materials directly to the families, children and child care providers we serve.

Infant mortality is something we can and must prevent, and with support from Impact Oklahoma, we WILL save lives! Proper training on safe sleep practices for child care providers is critical. The Mobile Training and Lending Program’s primary purpose, and our mission at Rainbow Fleet, is to improve the safety and quality of child care. This program has the potential to benefit more than 67,000 children in central Oklahoma under the age of five and will serve as an invaluable tool in the important work we have done for 44 years at Rainbow Fleet.