By By Mary-Allison Lancaster Managing editor
Partnering with the Coalition for a Healthier Escambia County and All Children Together, members involved with Kid One are working hard to bring a transportation bus solely to Escambia County.
Kid One was primarily developed to transport children and mothers-to-be, who had little or no means of transportation to a medical facility. Key members involved with the Kid One program are Dr. Marcia Raulerson, Cindy Waldrep and Harrell.
Waldrep currently serves as the president of All Children Together (ACT). She has been working hard on fundraising opportunities to support Kid One, Harrell said.
The ACT program is comprised of young adult women in the area that wanted to make a difference in the community, Harrell added.
Currently, it takes $35,000 a year to have the van available. The costs go toward paying for the driver, insurance and so forth, Harrell said. The van is made available free of charge from companies such as Mercedes, who provided the first SUV. Now, Ford and Chrysler make it possible for more counties to have access to a van.
The Kid One van is currently housed in Brewton..
According to Harrell, the Coalition is currently working on fundraising to purchase a new van to better serve each of the counties. In 2004-its first year for all three counties-the Kid One van made 124 trips for the three counties combined.
The van serves Conecuh and Monroe counties, as well as Escambia County, and works with the four hospitals located throughout each county.