May Newsletter

June 7, 2017

Dear Pool and Spa Safety Community,

It’s Water Safety Month, and we have some big news to share! Check out the highlights below to see more about how we kicked off the summer swim season. Many of you are also hard at work kicking off the season nationwide, and we wish you lots of success. We are looking forward to the 2017 World’s Largest Swimming Lesson coming up on June 22. Read on for details on how you can participate this year. Everyone at the campaign is hoping this is the safest summer yet for kids in and around the water!

The Michael Phelps Foundation Joins Pool Safely as a Partner

On May 20, the Pool Safely campaign announced a new partnership with the Michael Phelps Foundation and kicked off the summer swim season with an exciting event in Chicago! The memorable morning included a live interview with Michael on the TODAY Show, a swim lesson with children from the Boys & Girls Club and the Special Olympics, story time with Josh the Baby Otter and a press conference with Michael Phelps, CPSC Commissioner Joe Mohorovic, Blake and Kathy Collingsworth and others. The swimming lesson was led by Cathy Bennett, who taught the greatest Olympian of all-time how to swim. We were also joined by Michael’s wife, mom, and friends/ surprise guests Australian Olympic medalist Grant Hackett and 8-time Olympic medalist Allison Schmitt.

Left photo: Everyone is all smiles after the swim lesson, including Commissioner Mohorovic, Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt and Grant Hackett; Right photo: Michael offers remarks at the press conference with Blake and Kathy Collingsworth and Commissioner Mohorovic by his side.

The Safer Summer Swimming kickoff was a huge success, and we thank Pool Safely’s wonderful partners for their support. Specifically, our special thanks to the Michael Phelps Foundation, Blake and Kathy Collingsworth of JCMF Children’s Charities, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and their incredible staff at the Louis L. Valentine Boys & Girls Club in Chicago. In case you missed the event this weekend, you can watch the press conference on the CPSC Facebook page. Also, stay tuned for a Pool Safely blog post recapping the event.

Finally, be like Michael (and Mama Phelps, Nicole Phelps, Allison and Grant) and take the #PoolSafely Pledge. Let’s all commit to swim safer this summer.

Kicking Off Summer Swim Season in the Media: New Data

On Tuesday, May 23, CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle participated in 17 broadcast and radio media interviews across the United States, sharing Pool Safely’s simple steps that save lives, as well as CPSC’s latest fatal and non-fatal drowning data. Reports released by CPSC on Tuesday show a 17 percent reduction in fatal drownings between 2010 (the year the Pool Safely campaign was launched) and 2014 (the most recent data set available). In what is especially good news, this decrease is within the population most vulnerable to drowning: children younger than 5. While this is positive, those of us in the water safety community know that there is still much more work to do.

New Pool Safely Partners

The campaign would like to welcome 15 new organizations that partnered with Pool Safely this month:

Partner Highlights

Many of our partners have promoted water safety in their communities during Water Safety Month:

Stop Drowning Now characters Sammy Starfish, Gilbert Guppy and Timmy Tadpole took the Pool Safely Pledge (photo: top left).
The Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County collected 2,200 signed Pool Safely Pledges at various events throughout the spring (photo: bottom left).
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency collaborated with Pool Safely to post billboards throughout the San Diego, California community (photo: center).
The Independent Pool and Spa Service Association (IPSSA) shared water safety information at a 5K-1K run-walk hosted by the Justine Lee Pesicka Memorial Foundation in Wildomar, California (photo: top right), and members of IPSSA’s Menifee Valley Chapter hosted a drowning prevention event in Lake Elsinore, California as part of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s “Splash Into Spring” party.
FastMed Urgent Care launched its 2017 Pool Safely outreach program by distributing educational materials at Kidtopia, a kids’ festival in Queen Creek, Arizona (photo: bottom right).
Blue Buoy Family Swim School hosted a Safer 3 Water Safety Challenge to share water safety tips and demonstrate pool safety skills for the community of Tustin, California.
Goldfish Swim School published an article sharing 4 Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe at the Pool and hosted a Water Safety Day event at their locations in Fairview Park and Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
The City of Port St. Lucie, Fla. aired the Pool Safely song and music video on a local city news channel and display screens in the lobbies of various city departments to celebrate International Code Council’s Building Safety Month.
The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation educated kindergarten students in Nodaway County, Missouri about the importance of water safety. Learn more about their outreach program through an article published in the Maryville Daily Forum.
D&D Technologies issued a National Water Safety Month press release that shared the Pool Safely Pledge.
Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities shared information about its new water safety book, “Swim Time with Stewie the Duck,” and mobile game in the New Rochelle Daily Voice.
The Josh Project hosted a Water Safety Day Splash Bash with the community in Toledo, Ohio.
USA Swimming Foundation brought the lifesaving message of learn-to-swim to Houston, Texas with a Make A Splash Tour stop earlier this month. The Make A Splash Tour is set to visit Los Angeles, California on May 24, New Orleans, Louisiana on June 8, and Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 12.
The ZAC Foundation will host a ZAC Camp at the Boys & Girls Club of Fullerton May 30 through June 2 to educate children in Orange County, California on how to be safer around the water using its book, “The Polar Bear Who Couldn’t, Wouldn’t Swim.”
New Pool Safely partner Born 2 Swim Aquatic Academy will host a water safety workshop in Doral, Florida on May 27.

Thank you to these and all other Pool Safely partners who are using campaign messaging to educate their communities! Also, a reminder to our partners to please continue to let us know about your water safety efforts so that we can help promote them.

Mark Your Calendars

June 22: Mark your calendar for the 2017 World’s Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL)! WLSL events will happen at hundreds of locations in more than 20 different countries on five continents over the course of this 24-hour period. Pool Safely will be participating as well, so stay tuned for more information about our event.

The entire month of June: Planning on seeing a movie in theaters next month? Keep your eyes peeled for the Pool Safely PSA! Throughout June, theatergoers can see our PSA in theaters throughout Arizona, Florida, California and Texas. If you see the PSA, snap a photo and email it to poolsafely@cpsc.gov.

Blog Highlights

Please visit the Pool Safely blog to see our latest posts:

What do a public school system, an international airport, and a college recreation center have in common? They all celebrated International Water Safety Day.
Do you know the health benefits of swimming? Check out our blog post on how to be healthy while staying safer in the water this summer.
How many barriers does your pool have? Learn about the many types of barriers needed around pools and spas.
Our May Safety Selfie is Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle. Learn why she thinks it’s important to #takethepledge.

If you would like to be a featured partner in the Pool Safely blog, please email poolsafely@cpsc.gov.

Thank you for your continued support.