May is National Water Safety Month. Hope Floats Foundation is pleased to announce a National Water Safety Month Social Media campaign to equip families with knowledge and information to help prevent childhood drownings. During the month of May 2020, Hope Floats will post important water safety messages across its social media channels and encourage followers to “Donate their Social Media” to the cause by sharing the posts. The goal is to reach as many families as possible, and ultimately, save children’s lives.
The equivalent of thirteen school buses full of children die each year in the United States due to drowning. It’s the leading cause of accidental death for children under age 5. While studies at the National Institute of Health show that swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%, swim schools across the country have been closed since March in an effort to protect their clients from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because of closures, drowning prevention experts fear that our nation’s children are more at risk now. Parents are distracted. They are juggling working from home with full-time parenting because daycares, preschools, activity centers and schools are closed.
“Swim schools serve a critical role in local communities by empowering children and families with important water safety information and swimming skills.” said Cindy Tonnesen, founder of the Hope Floats Foundation. She continued, “Until our partners are able to reopen their doors, and until Hope Floats is able to continue serving families in need with scholarships, we feel that our best defense against drowning is to equip parents with this information using social media.”
There are five evidence based drowning prevention strategies: learning to swim, adult supervision, barriers to prevent access to the water (example: four-sided pool fencing and alarms), wearing life jackets, and learning CPR. These will be highlighted in the campaign along with other important lesser-known facts like, young children can drown in as little as two inches of water.
About Hope Floats Foundation – Hope Floats Foundation, founded in 2016, is a national nonprofit organization. Its mission is to prevent drownings by providing scholarships for swim lessons. Hope Floats partners with local communities to offer financial need-based scholarships in over 180 swim school locations in 29 states. Hope Floats’ provides thousands of swim lessons for children who otherwise do not have access. For more information, or to donate, please visit www.hopefloats.foundation.
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courtesy of Hope Floats Foundation