Holiday Retirement Residents Break Out Their Knitting Needles for CLICK for Babies, Raise Awareness for Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore (PRWEB) April 22, 2015 -- For the second consecutive year, CLICK for Babies, a grassroots public education campaign organized by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, is partnering with Holiday Retirement and its senior living communities to share hand-knit caps with newborns.
Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is the leading cause of child abuse deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Holiday Retirement takes pride in its culture of charitable support, and we’re honored to continue our tradition of community giving with this year’s CLICK for Babies campaign,” said Kai Hsiao, president and CEO of Holiday Retirement. “Our residents are passionate about giving back to their local communities and educating the public about important intergenerational issues, especially when they’re able to leverage their skills for a worthy cause.”
Holiday Retirement residents knitted and donated more than 2,000 caps to CLICK for Babies in 2014. Residents who plan to participate in this year’s CLICK for Babies initiative are looking forward to the challenges of knitting as well as the socializing and camaraderie that comes from the knitting circles and groups often formed in the senior living communities.
To date, residents of more than 40 Holiday Retirement senior living communities have signed up to spend the summer knitting and crocheting caps in various shades of purple to raise awareness of the Period of PURPLE Crying, a program that describes the time in infants’ lives where they will go through a period of increased crying. The Period of PURPLE Crying begins at about two weeks of age, reaches its peak in month two, then lessens and ends between three and five months of age.
“Frustration with infant crying is the number one trigger for an individual to shake or harm a baby, which is why it is so important for parents and caregivers to know what to expect from newborns and how to handle what can be a stressful time,” said Chelsea Naughton, CLICK for Babies campaign manager at the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. “CLICK for Babies offers a creative and engaging way to start conversations about both normal infant crying and the dangers of shaking.”
Once completed, the thousands of purple caps from Holiday Retirement senior living communities will be washed and sorted and then mailed to local health organizations. New parents will receive the purple caps as gifts along with their PURPLE program materials to remind them that their baby will go through the Period of PURPLE Crying.
About Holiday Retirement
Since 1971, Holiday Retirement has endeavored to provide its signature “Holiday Touch” to residents and their families. Today, Holiday is a trusted name in senior living and provides security, comfort, and value to independent seniors seeking a fulfilling lifestyle. Holiday operates more than 300 senior living communities, making it one of the largest senior living providers in the United States. For more information about Holiday Retirement, please call 888-370-7071 or visit http://www.holidaytouch.com.
About CLICK for Babies
CLICK for Babies is a grassroots public education campaign organized by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) in partnership with hospitals, public health and child abuse prevention groups to create awareness of the leading trigger for infant abuse, frustration with infant crying. Additional information about CLICK for Babies can be found on the campaign’s website at http://www.CLICKforBabies.org.
About the Period of PURPLE Crying
The Period of PURPLE Crying is an evidence-based program that aims to educate parents about the normality of early increased crying during the first months of a baby’s life, and the associated frustration. The program also seeks to teach parents techniques to soothe a baby, and healthy ways to cope with the crying when cry bouts cannot be soothed. More information about the Period of PURPLE Crying can be found at http://www.PURPLEcrying.info.
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Media Contacts:
Chelsea Naughton
CLICK for Babies
(801) 447-9360 x102
cnaughton(at)dontshake(dot)org
Brian K. Fawkes
Holiday Retirement
(971) 245 - 8337
brian.fawkes(at)holidaytouch(dot)com
Brian Fawkes, Holiday Retirement, http://www.holidaytouch.com, +1 (971) 245-8337, [email protected]
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