With a new component, Wade’s Ride continued both fundraising and awareness to help parents avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Held at the Bowyer Community Building on Saturday, the event featured a poker run and silent auction, as it has since it began. This year, a 5-K run-walk was added.
The event honors the memory of Wade Barrett, who was just three months old when he died of SIDS. Barrett’s mother, Gail Barrett, says much of the guidance about avoiding SIDS has held steady since the first Wade’s Ride 12 years ago. This includes babies sleeping on their backs, regardless of whether it’s for naptime or bedtime, and no blankets, pillows or toys in the bed until the child is age one. There has been one recent change that parents need to keep in mind.
Barrett says she gets a lot of questions about policies or products, and she says close to 90 percent of the items aren’t good for young children. Some are more outlandish than others.
Barrett relies on The Kansas Infant Death and SIDS Network out of Wichita for her information because they teach all the safe sleep instructors across the state.
According to Barrett, around $10,000 was generated through Saturday’s event with proceeds going to buy HALO sleep sacks for Newman Regional Health and portable cribs for the Emporia Community Baby Shower. A raffle to win a Kansas City Chiefs helmet autographed by Patrick Mahomes will continue until the Emporia Community Foundation has its annual Match Day on Nov. 15.
