Donors
A special thank you to our donors who allow us to provide accessibility to swim lessons, water safety, and health programs to any and all individuals, regardless of age, race, gender, ability, capability, or financial status.
We are extremely grateful for the support the United Way has given to Louisiana Splash and Water Safety in the last few years. We truly feel with The United Way’s help, we have been able to save lives and bring more water safety knowledge to our community.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for 1–4-year-olds and the 2nd cause of unintentional injury or death for 5–14-year-olds. On average, 4000 people drown a year, and another 8000 may visit an ER department for a non-fatal drowning event each year. Between the years 2018 and 2021, there were 1.31 deaths per 100,000 per year in the U.S., and by state, Louisiana ranked #4 in the U.S. at 2.31 per 100.000.
80% of all fatal drowning events are male, African American 1.5 x times higher than Caucasian, and in public pools 7.6x higher for that racial demographic in the 10 to 14 age group.15 years and older, fatal and non-fatal events occur in lakes, rivers, and oceans. Finally, 2/3 of all fatal drownings for children under the age of 1 occur in bathtubs.
With all these troublesome statistics glaring in our faces, we believe water safety/ swimming skills, information on the different challenges occurring in different bodies of water, backyard pool safety, and overall respect for water will keep people safer when enjoying any and all water activities. Noted are the facts that skill level, overall health, safety knowledge, age, race, water accessibility, carelessness, and inattentive behavior play major roles in these statistics.
Last year alone, LSWS served over 100 individuals of different ages, races, and genders. In addition, we served, on average, 25 individuals daily, Monday through Friday, for four months in our water aerobics health program. This program is primarily used by seniors for low-impact exercise and physical therapy/recovery for medical issues. Among those being serviced were approximately 35- 40 repeat individuals using the program three days a week.
So you see, our main issue is to impact and save lives. Because of you, we are making strides in our community. Over the last 10 years, we have serviced over 1000 individuals, and 30-40% have been adults. We feel the more adults trained; the more families will see the importance of lessons and water safety knowledge and the more individuals that can help prevent drownings.
