PHILADELPHIA, PA, July 20, 2023–Damaris Alvarado-Rodriguez, founder of Latinos Educando Juntos (LEJ) of Philadelphia, is proud to announce their new partnership with Cribs for Kids, a National Infant Safe- Sleep Initiative to promote infant safe sleep practices for all new parents. Thousands of sudden, unexpected infant deaths occur each year. Research indicates the vast majority are accidental and are due to babies sleeping in unsafe sleeping environments, with nearly three-fourths attributed to bed sharing.
Founded in 2021, LEJ has been recognized by the Commonwealth of PA for providing outstanding support and resources to early learning educators to help enrich the lives of black and brown children. With a focus on bilingual programming to ensure that all language barriers are removed, Alvarado-Rodriguez wants to teach parents and caregivers that the safest way for a baby to sleep is alone on his or her back in a bare, safety-approved crib. In addition to educational tools, in some areas, qualifying families who complete the program will receive Cribette portable cribs if they cannot afford safe-sleeping environments for their infants.
Alvarado-Rodriguez continued to explain and said, “We are targeting family childcare centers, teenage parents, and low-income families that may not be financially stable and need support to purchase the right equipment for children. We see this new relationship with Cribs for Kids as an opportunity to fill an unmet need for families as well as family childcare experiences. We’ll be giving training in a bilingual format.”
LEJ is seeking support from the community and would appreciate donations of cribs, playpens, sleep sacks, and car seats for families. For more information, visit www.ltainoseducandojuntos.org
About Latinos Educando Juntos (LEJ) LEJ was founded in 2022 and provides educational advancement breaking language barriers for early childhood teachers, center providers, and small business owners. The web- site – www.latinoseducandojuntos.org – is a hub of re- sources.
About Cribs for Kids Cribs for Kids is a national infant, safe-sleep education program that helps to reduce the risk of injury and death of infants due to accidental suffocation, asphyxia, or undetermined causes in unsafe sleeping environments. Visit https://cribsforkids.org/ for more information.
