ZAC Foundation Continues Water-Safety Education Crusade

ATLANTA, Georgia, September 17. THE ZAC Foundation marked a milestone this past summer when it completed the second year of a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring water-safety education to children across the country. Over the past two years, more than 3,800 children ages 5 to 9 at 35 Boys & Girls Clubs learned about the importance of water safety through the Connecticut-based water safety advocacy and education foundation’s signature ZAC Camp.

ZAC Camp is named in honor of Zachary Archer Cohn, who was 6 when he drowned in a drain entrapment in his family’s backyard swimming pool. The week-long camp teaches children the skills to be safe in and around water through in-pool swim lessons, classroom curricula and by engaging local first-responders to initiate trust between the kids and their community’s protectors. For campers, many who live in underserved neighborhoods, this lesson is invaluable.

“As another pool season comes to a close, we want families to think of water safety as more than just a summer lesson, but as a life lesson,” said Karen Cohn, Zachary’s mother and co-founder of The ZAC Foundation. “It is important that no matter the weather or season, parents and children take the proper precautions and remember the ABC and Ds of water safety: adults, barriers, classes and drains.”

The camps have increased from 10 last year to 25 in 2014 and focused on warmer climates where drowning deaths are most prevalent, including Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. Coast to coast, campers were armed with essential tools for safe swimming, including fundamental stroke training, emergency preparedness and response, and basic life-saving techniques.

“We owe a debt of gratitude to the Cohn family for the critical work they do in Zachary’s memory,” said BGCA President and CEO Jim Clark. “Thousands of Club kids will be safer in the water because they’ve acquired these important skills. Equipping children with essential water safety basics, especially at a young age, can prevent needless drowning accidents that take place every day in this nation, due primarily to a lack of water-safety knowledge and skills.”

Each ZAC Camp concluded with a gold medal ceremony and Club kids went home with a goodie bag full of water safety essentials to share with friends and family, including a water watcher card to remind them of the importance of adult supervision; a ZAC Foundation water safety wristband; and a copy of the foundation’s children’s book, “The Polar Bear Who Couldn’t, Wouldn’t Swim” (available in English and Spanish), as a reminder to always practice the ABC and Ds of water safety.

The ABC and Ds of water safety are an easy way for families to remember how to stay safe in and around any body of water.

· A is for Adults: only be near water with adult supervision
· B is for Barriers: barriers, such as a fence that goes around a pool, keep children safe
· C is for Classes: take swimming classes to learn how to be safe in the water
· D is for Drains: pool drains be dangerous to swimmers, and should be avoided while swimming

To learn more about water safety education year round, visit www.thezacfoundation.com

About The ZAC Foundation
The ZAC Foundation was established in 2008 by Brian and Karen Cohn after the loss of their 6-year-old son Zachary Archer Cohn in a pool drain entrapment in their backyard swimming pool. Through education and advocacy, the Foundation is dedicated to preparing children and their families for a lifetime of swimming safety. To learn more about The ZAC Foundation, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and thezacfoundation.com.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com.

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