Even though the Red Cross Aquatics team is busy throughout the year, it’s true that there is an increased sense of awareness from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That’s when most public pools open their gates, and kids around St. Louis flock to the water slides, diving boards and deep ends. And since May is Water Safety Month, we thought it might be a good time to blog about the importance of water safety and our annual Lifeguard Event, presented by Ekon Benefits.

Cooper Brakefield with Grandpa Keith and Aunt Kendree.

The Red Cross offers learn-to-swim classes for kids of all ages, starting at 6 months of age. It is a good idea to get kids acclimated to the water early. Take it from Genelle Brakefield who enrolled her son, Cooper, in Red Cross learn-to-swim classes when he was 10 months old.  Now Cooper is 1 ½ years old and loves being in the water with his mom and dad. Genelle says she wanted to get him enrolled early because she remembers swimming at her subdivision pool by the age of 2.

Genelle is with Ekon Benefits, the presenting sponsor of our annual Lifeguard Event. This year’s event is on Sunday, July 18, 2010 and is an opportunity for area lifeguards to come together for some camaraderie and competition not only to compete for prizes and recognition, but also practice and fine tune their lifeguarding skills. This is a great way to show communities the hard work it takes to maintain a safe environment at the local pools. Each participating lifeguard also receives an official event t-shirt and special give-away all provided by Ekon Benefits.

We are grateful for Ekon Benefits generous support of the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter! Together we save lives!

Jill