Councilman Mark Capodanno places the WHALE sticker on his childs safety seat

The WHALE (We Have A Little Emergency) program, a child safety seat occupant program that allows for identification of small children in the event of a vehicle accident where the adults with the child become incapacitated is now available courtesy of the Town of Huntington.

The program was originally started by Connie Day a child caregiver in Richmond Virginia. She was concerned with what could happen to any of the children charged in her care in the event that she was in an accident and became incapacitated. The program, which was the first of its kind, is now used in 32 states. Councilman Mark Capodanno who first heard of the WHALE program while working on the Child Safety Fair in the fall of 2002 decided to bring it to the Town of Huntington. Councilman Capodanno stated, "I think this is a great program, its so simple yet could be vital to the welfare of any small child that rides in a vehicle. I urge all parents, grandparents and anyone else who cares for small children to take advantage of this wonderful program."

The WHALE program works by placing an information sticker, which is placed on the back of the car seat. It provides important information about the child in the seat such as name, birth date, brief medical history and emergency contacts. Then two stickers with the universal WHALE logo are placed on the rear windows of the car to alert emergency personnel in the event of an accident that they can locate the child's information on the car seat. By placing it on the back of the seat none of the information will ever be visible to anyone outside the vehicle.

The Stickers along with informational brochures are available free of charge in both the Office of Parks and Recreation as well as the STAR Office both located in Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main St. Huntington NY 11743. For additional information please contact the office of Parks and Recreation (631) 351-3089.