Tag Archive for: water safety awareness

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5 Ways You Can Support The NDPA

Drowning is a complex problem. To be effective, organizations need to leverage their strengths and work together to have the greatest impact.

The NDPA can help you make those connections and to have the greatest impact.  Join the alliance and empower your communities to take more action, touch more lives, and make an even greater difference.

Become An NDPA Member

By becoming an NDPA member (Basic or Premium) you or your organization will be contributing to the NDPA’s overall mission to prevent drowning and gain access to resources that advance drowning prevention. Drowning IS Preventable, and with your membership and support, we can work together to help save lives.

Become An NDPA Partner

Organizational partners of the NDPA are the backbone of our organization. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance is very excited to partner with your organization or company and work together for the common goal of ZERO drownings. As the NDPA starts a new phase of growth as an organization we welcome the opportunity to seek out new partners that will be help the NDPA on this journey to provide educational resources, increase water safety, and expand our impact towards water safety and drowning prevention for people of all ages and walks of life.

Become An NDPA Sponsor

There are a number of ways you can help support the work of the NDPA and our annual conference. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please download and view our annual sponsorship guide or our annual major gift guide 

Make The NDPA Your Amazon Smile

Make the NDPA your Amazon Smile and each time you make an eligible purchase on Amazon the NDPA will receive a percentage of your purchase total as a donation. It’s as simple as clicking the link below to make the NDPA your Amazon Smile. Shop and support the NDPA at the same time!

Make a Donation

The NDPA also relies on donations from our members, friends, and supporters to continue our work. With your support we can continue to bring people, groups, and leaders together to prevent drownings. Remember our mission – “Together WE can PREVENT the tragedy of drowning!”

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New PSA From Abbey’s HOPE Offers Chilling, Timely Reminder

Abbey's Hope PSA

The water safety non-profit reminds parents and caregivers to avoid distracted supervision around pools.

MINNEAPOLIS—There’s a perfect storm of circumstances conspiring against adults’ ability to keep kids safe around pools and lakes this summer. Electronic devices continue to dominate our attention. And the COVID-19 pandemic has more adults working from home and supervising their children at the same time. For those with backyard pools, this poses an especially significant danger which has been brought to life in a chilling PSA from Abbey’s Hope.

The 30-second spot, “Watch Me!” features an all-too familiar scene: a distracted mom on the phone, laptop open as her young child splashes in the water, clamoring for her attention. What happens next is summed up by a provocative message superimposed on screen: “88% of child drownings occur with an adult nearby. 100% of those adults will never forgive themselves.” The spot concludes by inviting the viewer to become a Water Watchdog, which is an active supervision program started by Abbey’s Hope. To date, nearly 10,000 people have registered to take the pledge and receive their iconic Abbey’s Hope Water Watchdog ‘dog tag,’ a tangible reminder of the need to be vigilant when supervising children around water.

“It’s sadly ironic that we often tell our kids that we’re watching them, when we’re not,” said Katey Taylor, who along with husband Scott Taylor, founded Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation in response to the tragic death of their daughter, Abbey, following a pool drain entrapment incident in 2007. Taylor added, “Vigilant supervision has never been more important or required greater discipline, given the world we live in.”

 Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children ages one to four.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 379 pool- or spa-related fatal drownings reported per year for 2015 through 2017, involving children younger than 15 years of age.  The vast majority of those deaths were to children ages 4 and under.

The PSA will launch 7/20/20 on social media and is free to use and can be accessed at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZgSYeaUqWc  It also will be broadcast on local television during the summer months when pool and lake usage is at its peak. 

About Abbey’s Hope:
Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation is a Minnesota nonprofit organization named after Abbey Taylor, the Edina, Minn., six-year-old who died in 2008 as a result of injuries sustained by an improperly maintained pool drain cover. 

The Foundation’s goal is to: 

●      Promote awareness of, and education, related to child safety issues, including educating pool owners, operators, inspectors, and the general public about the dangers of pool entrapment, evisceration and drowning and the need for physical inspections of pool equipment.

●      Work with the pool and spa industry to improve the design of its products, packaging and warning labels, and assist in the development of product safety standards related to such products.

●      Identify and provide support and assistance to organizations and programs that help educate parents, children, and pool and spa manufacturers about the prevention of entrapment and traditional forms of drowning.  

Find out more about Abbey’s Hope at https://www.abbeyshope.org/

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Alison Petri
Program Manager
Abbey’s Hope Foundation
952.303.5421763.331.1899(cell)
alison@abbeyshope.org

Catch up on the NDPA Webinar Series

NDPA Webinar series

The NDPA Webinar Series is an educational initiative that aims to offer expert insight on  a plurality of topics pertaining to water safety and drowning prevention throughout the year. 

Here’s a list of our first 10 webinar sessions that you can watch on our site now!

Our first webinar discussed the American Academy of Pediatrics updated statement on the prevention of drowning, with Dr. Julie Gilchrist and Nicole Hughes, founder of Levi’s Legacy.




Dr. Andrea Taliaferro along with Ailene Tisser, MA PT and Cindy Freedman, MOTR, CTRS, founders of Swim Angelfish, lead the discussion on water safety and drowning prevention for individuals with disabilities and autism.

Waves, temperature, currents, weather… they can all be obstacles to the practice of open water swimming. Guest speakers Swim Angelfish and US Coast Guard Licensed Master Michael Carr.




This webinar covers what has worked well and what hasn’t for community water safety initiatives, how to connect with your community, how to gain support from your community, how to identify resources in your community, and other related topics.

This discussion covers federal water safety legislation with a focus on VGB and the proposed legislation on water safety education in schools in New Jersey with our expert panel which includes Alan Korn, J.D., Sean Kean, J.D., and Joe Oehme.




Led by Mick Nelson, the Facilities Development Senior Director at USA Swimming, this webinar is focused on drowning data and a discussion on the role that commercial aquatic facilities play in drowning prevention.

National Safe Boating Council‘s Executive Director, Peg Phillips, and Communication Director, Yvonne Pentz join us as we discuss life jacket use in the U.S., life jacket laws, and the “Wear It!” campaign.




How can more schools adopt water safety education programs? We answer this and other questions with the expertise of Stop Drowning Now and Colin’s Hope, both organizations that have existing and implemented drowning prevention curriculums in schools.

Physicians prescribing swim lessons to parents and children is a topic of great interest for most families in the U.S. Lana Whitehead, President of Water Smart Babies and Dr. Todd Vedder, MD with Atrium Health discuss it at length.




Our two guest experts in marketing and communication, Laura Metro, Owner of The Marketing Spirit and NDPA Board Member and Kent Nelson, Digital Marketing Specialist at Counsilman Hunsaker, discuss the ins and outs of navigating social media around a complex issue.

Don’t miss any of our upcoming webinars. Dates and topics will be announced on our social media profiles.

More Information about the 2020 National Water Safety Conference Online

more info ndpa 2020

As you know, due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the bold decision to transition the 2020 National Water Safety Conference to an online delivery format. This will be a new and exciting experience for everyone. We are committed to making this a fun and seamless experience for everyone. Here is more information about the online conference and what you can expect:

You’ll get full access to LIVE and RECORDED ALL sessions. That’s right… EVERY session! Yes, every keynote, the workshops, and each great session–the ones people travel thousands of miles to see–will be at your fingertips. With the 2020 National Water Safety Conference Online, you’ll have access to 40+ online recordings and multiple live sessions. You can watch playbacks from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at your leisure after the conference as well or follow along with us as though you were physically at the conference.

You’ll also be able to interact with other dedicated water safety advocates and professionals via our mobile app, private Facebook networking group, and other interactive networking events during the conference.

What is the value of a virtual conference?

  • Soak in knowledge from the world’s leading water safety advocates and professionals at your own pace.
  • Economically experience the best of the National Water Safety Conference presented by the NDPA.
  • Costs of travel, including airfare, hotel, and car rental are eliminated.
  • Study key sessions by watching them multiple times if needed.
  • Access 40+ sessions that could transform your approach to drowning prevention and water safety that will save more lives.
  • By attending this virtual conference you are making the most of your time by investing in your professional development and continuing education.
Watch NDPA Executive Director Adam Katchmarchi & NDPA Marketing Director Laura Metro discuss the upcoming 2020 National Water Safety Conference Online.

How does the National Water Safety Conference Online work?

1.- Registration

If you’ve already registered for the National Water Safety Conference, you are all set! If you haven’t registered yet, you still have time. The virtual conference will take place on the same dates our in-person conference was scheduled for (April 6-9). We have adjusted the price for the virtual conference to $399 ($100 savings vs. in-person full conference rate). If you’ve paid a higher rate, expect a refund of the difference to appear in your account soon.

We are thrilled with the value of the content we are going to provide you – all of the education – for one low rate with no hotel, air travel, ground transportation, entertainment, and other expenditures.

If you’d like to register for the National Water Safety Conference Online, please visit www.WaterSafetyConference.org and click on “Register”. While this site is currently being updated, you can still use the existing registration process to register. All prices have already be updated.

2.- Watch The Sessions

Greet each day by networking with our exhibitors, sponsors, and other attendees beginning at 9:30am ET. At 11am ET each day, the conference begins. You’ll be able to join our LIVE STREAM all day until 6pm and view our keynotes and interactive sessions. You’ll also be granted access to over 10+ pre-recorded presentations each day. Don’t have time to watch it all in one day? That’s fine! You will have access to all recordings for 3 months after the conference ends.

More information will be available soon. Keep an eye on your emails for further communications from the NDPA. We plan to release the updated conference schedule by mid-next week.

3.- Networking and Discussion

Join our Facebook group to connect with other dedicated water safety advocates and professionals who share your industry, area of interest, or even region of the world. It’s only for National Water Safety Conference participants.

NDPA App – We are in the process of updating the NDPA conference app which will be a critical communications and networking piece to this online experience.  We will let you know when the app is ready to go.

4.- Who, What, When, Where & Why

WHO: This virtual experience is ideal for any water safety advocate, aquatics professional, industry executive, or business owners, who want to better understand the latest drowning prevention and water safety tactics given by the leading experts in the field. 

WHAT: The National Water Safety Conference Online provides full online access to ALL sessions that would have been in-person at the physical conference (NOTE: some agenda items have been changed). These are videos you can play over and over. You’ll also get PDFs of the presentation slide decks. In addition, access to a private and exclusive networking group allows you to network and ask questions. 

WHEN: Session recordings will be posted daily April 6 -9. You’ll have access to all the sessions for 3 months after the conference.

WHERE:At home on your schedule or join right along with us.

WHY: You’ll be able to implement effective drowning prevention strategies and tactics that will help improve your efforts to save lives. This virtual conference will ensure your employer or yourself that you are maximizing the full potential of your time at home!

If you were to attend the live National Water Safety Conference 2020 in Ft. Worth and access all the content featuring a lineup of world-class experts the cost would be $499. And that doesn’t include the added costs of travel! Not with the Virtual Conference!! By attending the National Water Safety Conference Online you have no costs for travel, meals, hotels, cars but get access to ALL the sessions! 

Again, we are confident and excited to roll out this conference in a virtual format.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas and as with everything the NDPA and it’s members, sponsors and partners do, we will do this together. If you have any questions, please email conference@wp14.temp.domains and we will get back to you shortly.