Hurricane Ian Relief Efforts Information

Oct 20, 2022

In response to the devastation from Hurricane Ian, JPMA Cares is sharing the below information from Safe Kids Southwest Florida for companies and individuals interested in donating or volunteering.



On the morning of Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian intensified into a Category 4 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, just shy of a Category 5 storm. Ian came ashore near Cayo Costa, which is in Lee County, Florida, at 3pm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, tying the record for the fifth-strongest hurricane on record to strike the United States. It was the strongest hurricane to hit Florida since Michael in 2018. It was also the first Category 4 hurricane to impact Southwest Florida since Charley in 2004. The storm moved very slowly at 8 mph.


Ian thrashed parts of Florida’s western coast, bringing intense winds, heavy rainfall, and catastrophic storm surges. A storm surge with inundation of an unprecedented 12 to 18 feet above ground level was reported along the southwestern Florida coast, and the city of Fort Myers itself was hit particularly hard with a 7.26 foot surge—a record high https://graphics.axios.com/2022-09-28-ian-surge/images/2022-09-28-ian-surge-tablet.png. The data also shows storm surge reached well inland in many areas. For example, an estimated nine-foot storm surge meant a foot or two of water spread miles inland in areas. Such high water helps explain in part why so many of the more than 50 deaths reported in Lee County – at least 30 – were attributed to drowning. The storm also knocked out power to more than four million customers in Florida. 


In Lee County alone, 5,014 homes are destroyed, 13,213 have major destruction, 14,074 have minor destruction, and 16,591 are affected. These numbers do not include commercial buildings. However when you combine commercial and residential property, the total cost for destroyed property is $529M, $3.5B have major destruction, $2M have minor destruction, and $847M are affected. Lee County is not tracking number of cars that are damaged however according to Cox Automotive estimates, the storm destroyed between 30,000 and 70,000 cars.


Led by Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, Safe Kids Southwest Florida works to prevent unintentional childhood injury. Safe Kids Southwest Florida serves Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties area families. Through education, advocacy, training and hands-on demonstrations, Safe Kids Southwest Florida supports parents, educators, safety professionals, caregivers and the media with evidence-based data and injury prevention strategies on a variety of topics including prevention of pedestrian and bicycle injuries, burns, drowning, motor vehicle injuries and more.


Safe Kids Southwest Florida is seeking donations at this time to help support our community that are dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Ian.  We have many families that have lost their homes and have relocated in with friends, family members, and shelters. They do not have a safe place for their babies to sleep therefore we are asking for play yards. We are seeking car seats, as mentioned, many families lost their cars to flooding/storm surge, which included their car seats. We lost between 50 to 100 employee cars in the parking lot alone of Golisano/HealthPark due to flooding. We have helped over 20 of those staff members with car seats already. We lost 2 of our outreach vans and a trailer that pulled Safety Sam(Our ATV robot). Sadly, Safety Sam is destroyed as well.  Many pool cages are gone leaving pools exposed so we are asking for door alarms.  We are also seeking carbon monoxide detectors as even 3 weeks since Hurricane past, many homes are still without power and are using generators. My CO detector actually went off the day after the storm. I learned just how important this device is! 


Safe Kids Southwest Florida has checked in with many of our child passenger safety technicians and have already started distributing seats through some of our first responders partners that are technicians.  We could also use some support of any technicians if you have time to spare. 


If anyone is wanting to donate funds as we identify other needs, please donate online at https://leehealthfoundation.org/donate-now/ and in the drop down box, please ensure you click “other” and write in “Child Advocacy Department.” You can also send checks to Lee Health Foundation, Attn: Child Advocacy Department, 9800 S Healthpark Dr. Ste. 405, Fort Myers, FL 33908-3630. 


If you have any questions or wish to coordinate volunteering, please do not hesitate to contact Sally Kreuscher, at 239-289-5789, or Sally.Kreuscher@LeeHealth.org. Thank you for the consideration and time. 

For more information, contact Meredith Birkhead at mbirkhead@jpmacares.org.

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JPMA Cares Honors Torine Creppy, Impacts Children in Need

06 Jun, 2023
MT. LAUREL, N.J., June 6, 2023 — JPMA Cares, a foundation committed to improving the long-term outcomes of babies and young children, presented its third annual Impact Award to Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide. For more than two decades, Creppy has led efforts to ensure families have access to the right products and injury prevention information regardless of income, education, or other factors. “Torine and her team at Safe Kids Worldwide work tirelessly to prevent childhood injuries, and JPMA Cares values the positive impact they’re making,” said Executive Director of JPMA Cares and JPMA Lisa Trofe. “Torine is a shining example of advocacy in action, and her work benefits one of the world’s most vulnerable populations—babies and young children.” Creppy was honored at JPMA Cares’ Benefit for Babies in Washington, D.C. last month. Event sponsors included Amazon , Safe Kids Worldwide , Breathable Baby , Association Headquarters , and ASTM International . Proceeds from JPMA Cares fundraising initiatives like the Benefit are used to advance the foundation’s mission. “As JPMA Cares secures the right resources, we partner with like-minded charities to distribute them to people and places in high need,” said Trofe. “At less than two years old, our foundation has already positively impacted more than 10,000 babies and young children. JPMA Cares extends our industry’s purpose of supporting infants, young children, and their caregivers with safe products. We plan to keep the momentum going.” To further the impact of JPMA Cares, the foundation partnered with lead donors Amazon , Chicco , Delta Children’s Products , and Regal Lager to fund and facilitate a microgrant initiative this year. From a field of 50+ applicants, JPMA Cares awarded six microgrants of $5,000 each to Mission Sleep , EveryMom Chicago , Greater D.C. Diaper Bank , Okeechobee Healthy Start Coalition , Boston Children’s Hospital , and HarborCOV . “From recognizing partners like Torine Creppy at Safe Kids Worldwide to raising funds at the Benefit to distributing funds through our new microgrant program, JPMA Cares is championing the long-term success of babies and young children,” said Trofe. “We invite those who care about having a positive impact on babies to join us.” Learn more and get involved at jpmacares.org . Media Contact: Jardan Paige Brown Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association – JPMA jbrown@jpma.org 50 2 -319-0675 

JPMA Cares Elects New Directors to Nonprofit Board

24 May, 2023
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., May 24, 2023 – JPMA Cares, a charitable organization founded by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) and supported by the broader baby and children’s products industry, is pleased to announce its newly elected Board of Directors. The JPMA Cares Board of Directors provides strategic guidance to the foundation, which contributes to the long-term success of babies and young children by reducing barriers to healthy development, ensuring fundamental needs are met, and promoting a safe and nurturing environment for them to learn and grow. The newly elected officers are as follows: Chairman: Rick Schaub , Executive Vice President, Sales, Dorel Juvenile Group Vice Chairman: Joe Shamie , President, Delta Children’s Products Treasurer: Jason Somerville , Founder and Managing Partner, Providium Group and Global Wired Advisors Jennifer Mitchell will transition to the role of Immediate Past Chair. The newly elected and re-elected directors are as follows: Mark Fellin, Chief Quality Officer, Melissa & Doug Chloe Kontos, Global Head of Product Safety and Quality for External Affairs, Amazon Steve Marton, Co-Founder & Partner, VisioCap, LLC Kelly Voelker, CEO & Founder, KVA – Communications Made Simple Luanne Whiting-Lager, Co-Founder, Regal+Lager, Inc. “JPMA Cares is grateful to have these philanthropic-minded leaders serving on the board,” said Lisa Trofe, executive director of JPMA and JPMA Cares. “Together with our partners, we will work to improve the long-term outcomes of babies and young children. At less than two years old, this foundation is still in its infancy, yet we’ve already had an impact. In 2022, JPMA Cares helped more than 10,000 children through product and monetary donations, as well as volunteer efforts. I look forward to working alongside our board to grow the impact of JPMA Cares in 2023 and beyond.” To learn more about JPMA Cares, visit jpmacares.org . About JPMA Cares JPMA Cares contributes to the long-term success of babies and young children by reducing barriers to healthy development, ensuring fundamental needs are met, and promoting a safe and nurturing environment for them to learn and grow. JPMA Cares is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, founded by JPMA (the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association) and supported by the broader baby and children’s products industry. Learn more at jpmacares.org . About the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is the voice of the industry on quality and safety for baby and children’s products in North America. We work to advance the interests of manufacturers, parents, children, and the industry at large by advocating for safety through product certification programs and legislative and regulatory involvement. We support our broad and diverse membership through member-only programming and industry promotion, and we act as a comprehensive source for baby product information and education. Established in 1962, this year JPMA marks its 61st year of helping protect future generations by advancing the availability and safety of products used to care for babies and young children. Media Contact: Jardan Paige Brown Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association – JPMA jbrown@jpma.org 502-319-0675 
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