PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Children’s Hospital received a big donation today. They didn’t receive a check though. Instead, they got a van.

Officials said the van will help to keep local children safe and raise awareness, too.

“This is going to make a world of difference for us. This is going to help us with time. It’s going to help us with money it’s going to get us out in the community even further than we’ve been able to,” Chris Vitale from Children’s Hospitals said.

Keys to the 2012 Kia Sedona came by way of Cochran Automotive Group in Monroeville.

“Great organization to be part of and it’s part of who we are,” Rob Cochran said.

In addition to various transportation roles, the van will be a bit of patrol vehicle.

“We do a hard head patrol program so all summer long we’ll be going to 11 different sites fitting kids with bike helmets, looking for kids who are riding their bikes and giving them rewards because they have their helmets on. If they don’t have their helmets on we give them a coupon and tell themw here they can come and get one,” Vitale said.

The patrol could be very busy because if you believe the statistics from the government, if you don’t wear a helmet you risk a great deal.

According to a Center for Disease Control 2010 study:

800 cyclists were killed on the nation’s roads and trails.

500,000 suffered injuries requiring an emergency room visit or hospital stays

Two-thirds of the injuries were to the head neck and face

“Eight-five to 90 percent of head injuries are prevented by having a helmet on,” Vitale said.