Time Warner Cable News Features Colin’s Hope Got2Swim

Time Warner Cable News featured the Colin’s Hope Got2Swim 10K journey to prevent child drownings on Thursday, September 1. This year’s event included over 50 dedicated swimmers, and a huge support crew that worked tirelessly to keep every athlete and water guardian safe along the way.

Check out the video below, or visit http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2016/09/2/charity-swim-raises-money-for-drowning-prevention.html for the full scoop.

Water Guardian Badge Impacts Local Community

Colin’s Hope exists to raise water safety awareness to prevent drowning, and does so by promoting the appointment of an adult “Water Guardian” and the use of the Water Guardian Badge. The role of a Water Guardian is to actively supervise any children in the water, and wear the pictured Water Guardian Badge on their wrist as a physical reminder that they are on duty. If the current Guardian needs to take a break, they can remove the badge, and hand it over to another adult. It is our belief that this tool, along with multiple layers of protection, can save many lives.

Over these summer months, Texas has seen a swift increase in the number of drowning incidents. Currently, our state has lost 74 children to a fatal drowning, and it is estimated that at least 6-7 times more children have experienced a non-fatal drowning. Though it is tough to read these statistics, there are many lights of hope and positive moments to share.

Recently, a local community member and mother, Amanda Creager, reached out to Colin’s Hope via Facebook to tell her story of a Water Guardian Badge success.

“I wanted to thank you all for the outreach you all have done in the area schools this year. My daughter, a student at Elm Grove Elementary in Buda, was so excited to bring home her Water Guardian bracelet and to go over all the safety tips with me. Fast forward maybe a little over a week and we’re attending the first pool party of the season on Friday at a friend’s backyard pool. I noticed one of the other moms was wearing the Water Guardian bracelet in the pool. When she got out of the pool to use the restroom, she passed the bracelet to another mom and made sure she was “ready for duty” as the responsible party. Eventually, the bracelet was passed to me. During my time on watch, I caught a glimpse of one our younger kids just below the water’s surface. The more I looked, it dawned on me that he was about to drown. I was able to pull him from the water and make sure he was OK. We had 8 kids and 5 adults and I was the ONLY one to happen to see this boy struggling to get above the surface among the chaos of children’s laughter and splashing. As traumatic as the experience was for me, I am SO thankful I did notice him! Not 20 minutes later, my own 20-month old, who was at my feet by the edge of the pool, fell in while I was talking to another adult. It only took 1/2 a second of distraction! The universe was again shining on us as another adult screamed to notify us immediately that he had fallen in and we were able to pull him up quickly. Phew! As we were leaving the party one of the moms gave me back the Water Guardian bracelet and informed me that it was MY daughter who brought the bracelet and gave it to another adult with instructions to be watchful. Clearly your message made an impression on her and in-turn saved a life or two that day. I’m grateful for our happy outcomes and our increased appreciation for vigilant eyes around the pool this summer. I am also so grateful for what you all do in the schools to educate our children. Please know that it IS working and making a difference. Thank you!”

Amanda Creager

Parent at Elm Grove Elementary

Buda, Texas

THANK YOU, Creager family, for being Ambassadors of water safety in your community and sharing your knowledge with those around you!

Colin’s Hope Reminds You to be Safer this Summer

Colin’s Hope reminds you to be safer this summer. Executive Director Alissa Magrum met with KVUE and Time Warner Cable News this week to help remind families of things they can do to be safer near water before and during their trips this summer. In addition to learning how to swim, Colin’s Hope urges families to wear life jackets, especially in open water like lakes and beaches. Create multiple layers of protection for your family by staying within arms reach of children, learning CPR, and keeping your home safer. You can learn more about these and other layers of protection by visiting our Water Safety Tips page.

According to HelpandHope.org and our partners at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas has already lost 64 children to fatal drownings in 2016. We are also seeing many adult fatal drownings and water related incidents in all all types of water –pools, lakes, rivers, bathtubs, bays and at beaches. If we do not do something right now, we will have more fatal child drownings this year in Texas than we had in 2015!

Lastly, Colin’s Hope would like to send a special thank you to long-time supporter Dorian de Wind for writing and publishing an article at The Moderate Voice and The Huffington Post entitled “Colin’s Hope: A World Where No Child Drowns.” THANK YOU for sharing Colin’s story and impacting so many lives with the message of drowning prevention.

Partnership to Prevent Drowning

Colin’s Hope, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Stepping Stone School: Partnership to Prevent Drowning

This quick video chronicles a water safety class given to preschool children at Stepping Stone School. You will see and hear simple water safety messages that can be taught both in and out of the water to help prevent drowning.

Have the BEST DAY EVER.

Spring Break Water Safety

Alissa Magrum with Colin’s Hope and Safe Kids Austin stops by the Fox 7 Good Morning Austin studios to share tips on how to keep kids safe around water.

Colin’s Hope wants you to have the Best Spring Break Ever so please practice good water safety around pools, lakes, rivers & beaches. Visit the water safety hub on our website and take our water safety quiz to refresh your water safety knowledge.

Watch Video

Colin’s Hope receives NDPA Community Lifesaver Award

Colin’s Hope is incredibly proud and honored that OUR work has been acknowledged both locally and now nationally with the the National Drowning Prevention Alliance 2016 Community Lifesaver Award. Thank you to all our sponsors, partners, donors and volunteers who are helping us work towards our vision of a world where children do not drown.

Congratulations, Colin’s Hope has been awarded a 2016 NDPA Community Lifesaver Award.

With this award, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance desires to acclaim and honor exceptional work in the advancement of water safety and drowning prevention at the community level prior to our annual conference.

The criteria for the award review are an individual or organization’s water safety work, with at least two of the following:

Assumed a leadership role in local or regional awareness of the potential for drowning ·
Demonstrated outstanding achievement in creating awareness of proven drowning prevention strategies
Made a significant contribution (such as development and implementation/distribution of a product or program) that significantly improved water safety for children and/or adults
Successfully promoted the use of new drowning prevention trends or technologies
Viewed as a local or regional advocate for drowning prevention by increasing public attention at the policy making level
Successfully implemented an innovative existing or new program in an area where none previously existed
Successfully implemented an innovative existing or new program with the foundation to continue a minimum of five years

An award ceremony will be held at the 2016 National Drowning Prevention Alliance Educational Conference in Phoenix, AZ on Tuesday March 29 at 3pm during our general session.

Congratulations and thank you for your strong work in water safety and drowning prevention!

Jim Paterson
NDPA President

Adam B. Katchmarchi
NDPA Vice President

View Letter

Amplify Drowning Prevention!

Are you ready to Amplify, Austin??! Colin’s Hope is! We are excited to announce that we will be at TWO Amplify Austin events for 2016. On March 8, you can catch us at the Lake Travis Amplify Event at Table 620 OR the East Austin Amplify Live Event at the Austin Film Society studio.

Did you know that just $25 can purchase a life jacket for a loaner board at the lake? Schedule your donation today!

Click Here to Donate

Lake Pointe Elementary raises over $1K for drowning prevention

Best Monday Ever with our amazing young leaders and water safety ambassadors at Lake Pointe Elementary! Their student council led Hope Floats Craft Fair which raised $1256.07 for Colin’s Hope and drowning prevention! We are so thankful for their efforts. Our crew of supporters that went to receive the big check included Colin’s mom Jana & Colin’s sister Kayla.

2015 Nonprofit of the Year

Colin’s Hope was chosen as the 2015 Westlake Nonprofit of the Year at the recent Westlake Chamber of Commerce Best of the Westies Awards luncheon. We are proud to have received this award for our working providing quality volunteer experiences and water safety education for Westlake students and families. Thanks to all who voted for us. We look forward to continuing our drowning prevention work in the Westlake community.

Water Safety Signage

Order water safety signage for your aquatic facility, and help raise water safety awareness among your patrons. Pools and aquatic facilities can visit the online BuildASign Store to order our water safety signage and a portion of every sign sold will be donated to Colin’s Hope.

Your logo can be added for a customized look for your location.

Spanish versions are available.