Sorority urging parents to buckle up kids

The Stone Mountain-Lithonia Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. will soon be offering instruction to parents on the proper ways to place children in seatbelts.

The group will also encourage parents to keep children 4 to 8 years of age and those who weigh less than 80 pounds in car seats.

The chapter's work will be aided by a $5,000 grant, awarded to it last month by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

The AKAs will be holding community-based clinics as part of the sorority's "Staying Alive: Increasing Child Safety Seat Usage" program and buying and distributing car seats to clinic participants.

The program will target African-American, Latino and low-income communities in an effort to increase the use of child restraints in motor vehicles.

Phyllis Elbert, the state's highway safety office's community coordinator, is working with groups like the AKAs and other community volunteers.

AKA chapter vice president Candy Tate and Cheryl Bonner, who are co-chairing the child safety program, attended an orientation conference in Savannah last month. Other chapter members will be attending clinics in July and August to get training to run community workshops for parents.

The state Office of Highway Safety is looking for other community volunteers to adopt the Child Safety Seat program. Individual and groups, who volunteer now, can make the July and August training classes. For more information, call Candy Tate at 404-932-4377, or e-mail her at candygallery@mindspring.com.