“National Water Safety Month is a powerful way to send a crucial message at the start of the busy summer swim season,” said Connie Harvey, director of the Aquatics Centennial Initiative for the Red Cross. “There are layers of protection involved in water safety. Ensuring everyone in the family learns how to swim and that parents and caregivers have the knowledge and skills to handle emergencies around the water, including how to perform CPR is a good place to start. National Water Safety Month helps us communicate these messages.”

International Water Safety Day – May 15
International Water Safety Day is designed to help spread global awareness of the ongoing drowning pandemic and educate youth in becoming safer in and around water. May 15 is a day to spread drowning awareness and water safety education by any means possible.
American Red Cross wants to ensure that every member of your family becomes water competent. This means being water smart, having swimming skills and knowing how to help others. Children and adults should learn to swim so they at least achieve the skills of water competency: be able to enter the water, get a breath, stay afloat, change position, swim a distance and then get out of the water safely.