In April, Kim and Lisa McMullin attended the National Drowning Prevention Alliance Water Safety Conference where SWIM ON Foundation won the Community Lifesaver Award!
It was back to in-person for the NDPA Water Safety Conference and what an emotional week!! Sharing heartbreaking stories, tears, hugs and inspiring new friends. And many, many people working tirelessly to end the epidemic of drowning that is the leading cause of death for kids 1-4. There were representatives of national organizations and vendors of water safety products and providers of swim lessons to children with special needs.
….And then there were the members of Families United to Prevent Drowning.
The requirement for "admission" is to have lost a family member to drowning. Not a group anyone should join. Not a group that wants new members - but sadly more and more families do join. The pain of these families is palpable, their commitment to prevent others from suffering the same pain is inspirational.
In the introduction, they say: "It's a tough read. But so worth it. Each family in this book once believed that drowning was something that happened to other people. Then suddenly, without warning, we became ‘other people.’"
The stories are collected in a "book" on the Families United website.
It happens every day. To good families. To protective families. To normal families. Families like ours. Families like yours. No one should see a picture of someone they love in this story collection.”
Most members have created foundations, some large, some small, but all dedicated to drowning prevention.
The stories are painful but each of the families also knows that drowning is the most preventable accidental injury and they have dedicated themselves to make “Not One More” a reality.
United we say, "Not one more drowning." Families United and their “members” are “dedicated to put an end to the silent epidemic that is drowning.”
If you have time to visit the Families United Website and read through the “Our Stories,” I highly recommend it.
FAMILIESUNITEDTOPREVENTDROWNING.ORG
Families United to Prevent Drowning
We are Families United to Prevent Drowning, a group of people connected for the worst possible reason: the loss or near loss of someone we love to a water tragedy. Through Families United, we join to create one
To learn how you can help prevent drowning go to our website www.SwimOnFoundation.org or contact Lisa McMullin at lisa@swimonfoundation.org