Tell me a little about your organization and how long have you been a Pool Safely campaign partner?
Charlie’s House
is a not-for-profit organization with safety at its core – dedicated to keeping the community informed and engaged when it comes to preventing injuries to children in and around the home. We participate in and sponsor community-wide events to provide home safety information. Charlie’s House has been a partner with the Pool Safely campaign for more than a year.
What is the most useful/your favorite Pool Safely resource?
The water safety tips very helpful for parents, grandparents and caregivers of young children. They are simple, direct and easy to implement. Additionally, these tips were very useful to us when we did a television news story about water safety.
What top 3 water safety steps or messages do you think are the most important for keeping kids safer in and around the water?
- Always watch kids in and around the water.
- Properly fence all pools.
- Make sure that kids learn to swim.
Also, I’m glad that the Pool Safely campaign lists “stay away from drains” within the Water Safety Tips.
How has your organization made a difference among consumers when it comes to drowning prevention?
We have taken several steps in this area. We’ve taken out billboards with proactive messages in regard to pool safety. We did several live television spots in the Kansas City market. We’ve put out several messages through our social media channels. As such, we’ve been proactive about pool safety, and have encouraged parents, grandparents and caregivers of young children to do the same.
Why do you think it is beneficial to partner with CPSC and the Pool Safely campaign?
This is a no-brainer and a win-win situation. It’s clearly beneficial to partner with CPSC and the Pool Safely campaign because it is a highly credible national campaign and has tremendous resources. We can use these resources to pass along to the thousands of people that have connected with Charlie’s House. In the end, we both have the same outcomes in mind: to keep children safe. With this partnership, we can help save lives, and that’s incredibly powerful!