Safe Haven Baby Box on way; to be installed at fire department
The Safe Haven Baby Box, to be installed at the Forrest City Fire Department, is on its way, according to local officials.
FCFD Chief Shane Dallas said the fire department has already contacted the contractor so that installation can begin as soon as the box arrives.
"We received confirmation that the Safe Haven Baby Box is being shipped," said Dallas. "It is leaving Indiana, where it was constructed, and headed to us. I imagine it will be here in a few days. We have already gotten with the contractor who is going to be doing the installation as soon as it gets here."
Dallas said there are close to 200 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 10 states throughout the country.
The FCFD plans to have a dedication ceremony for the community and with the organizations that helped raise money for to purchase it.
"Once we get it installed or have an end date in sight, we will be hosting a dedication ceremony," said Dallas. "We want to have the dedication ceremony with not only the folks who were instrumental in doing this, but also all of our fundraisers, the community and the Safe Haven Baby Box organization. They go to every dedication of a baby box. It is my understanding they will be here to talk about the significance of it and how it is benefiting other communities."
According to Dallas, in addition to monies that were raised during fundraisers, the FCFD also received donations from residents that provided enough money for the purchase and installation.
"None of this is being done with city funds," said Dallas. "It is all being done with donated funds from fundraisers the community has put together.
“The St. Francis County Junior Auxiliary was huge in us getting this box,” continued Dallas. “They put together the Safe Haven Harvest Festival fundraiser that raised a significant portion of the money. We also just had people who would contribute personally by writing a check or giving us cash to help fund this.
"The SFCJA is also funding the annual maintenance on the box, which is like the alarm system and things like that," said Dallas. "They stepped up and committed to continuing to fund the annual maintenance to make
sure it stays in proper working order. None of this is city funds or public money, it is all from fundraisers and contributions from the community, which makes it that much more special.”
According to Dallas, the FCFD will announce the date for the dedication ceremony as soon as possible in order to give people time to make arrangements to attend.
"We are extremely happy about it," said Dallas. “When we have a date for dedication, we are going to get that out in plenty of time to make sure everyone has the opportunity to be there."