FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project
Dave Benjamin, Executive Director, 708-903-0166, dave.benjamin@glsrp.org
Bob Pratt, Executive Director of Education, 517-643-2553, bob.pratt@glsrp.org
www.GLSRP.org
Chase Froese is the 410th person to drown in Great Lakes
As two more submerge
Petition for water safety school curriculum
to break the Viscous Cycle of the Drowning Epidemic
GREAT LAKES, USA – The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (GLSRP) announces with heavy heart that Chase Froese, 20, of Carol Stream, Illinois became the 410th person to drown in the Great Lakes since 2010.
And in the wake of Froese’s drowning:
- A 35 year-old man dies after being pulled from Lake Michigan’s Oak Street Beach in Chicago
- A 16 year-old is missing and presumed drowned in Lake Huron.
INLAND LAKES
Delavan Lake, Wisconsin – A 49 year-old St. Charles, Illinois man has died after he jumped into a southern Wisconsin lake without a life vest to retrieve fishing equipment.
Lobdell Lake in Michigan – A ‘would-be’ rescuer is missing. Thomas Kelly, 44, was on a boat pulling two girls on a tube. The tube flipped. He attempted a rescue and is missing.
PETITION WATER SAFETY SCHOOL CURRICULUM
The GLSRP has started a MoveOn.org petition for a National Water Safety School Curriculum to combat the Vicious Cycle of the Drowning Epidemic.
An overview of the Vicious Cycle:
- “Drowning is a neglected public health issue,” the World Health Organization
- Each year millions of dollars are spent to bring more people to water
- People who do not know that drowning is a leading cause of accidental death
- People who do not have the basic swimming abilities to save their own lives
- People who unknowingly support the “Stigma of Drowning”
- Then drowning continues to be a neglected public health issue
- And then millions of dollars continue to be spent to bring more people to water
- And the cycle continues to swirl around…
DROWNING PANEL
Major News Media should host a special episode with a panel of family members of drowning victims to discuss the impact of loss and the importance and need of a Water Safety School Curriculum. The GLSRP has assembled a Drowning Panel from the Great Lakes region and an outline for such an episode (Click here for all the details of the episode).
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Great Lakes Drowning Statistics
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ABOUT THE GLSRP
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, Inc. (GLSRP) is about saving lives. It is a nonprofit 501c3 corporation that is a Chapter of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA).
The GLSPR:
- Tracks the Great Lakes drowning statistics (412 since 2010)
- Teaches “Great Lakes Water Safety” classes (Over 145 classes since 2011)
- Works with family and friends of Great Lakes drowning victims to advocate water safety
- Hosts Surf Lifeguard Certification courses (pics)
#GLSRP
#watersafetyschoolcurriculum
#becauseisaidiwould
#StopDrowning
#WHOdrowning
#CDCdrowning
#NDPA
#lifesaveroftheyear
#bobpratt
#VickiCech
#MelissaZirkle
