News

The Suncoast Safe Kids Coalition (led by All Children's Hospital) and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) co-sponsored the FloridaSafePools.org H2O EXPO on Saturday, May 7, 2011. This public event was created to provide families with young children a fun water experience while raising awareness about water safety practices and drowning prevention. Many local families came out and participated in a variety of fun and educational activities:

• Swim evaluations for children two years and up (provided by City of St. Petersburg Parks & Recreation Department certified water safety instructors)
• Information for parents about where to find swim instruction for kids
• A demonstration of various pool barriers, pool drains and other "layers of pool protection" by members of the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA)
• Olympic Gold Medalist and swimmer Brooke Bennett delighted everyone by displaying her Olympic gold medals, signing autographs, and sharing cookies
• Fun with bubbles provided by the Great Explorations bubble activity
• TASCO brought the ever-popular bounce house
• Paddle board work-outs for teens were held in the USF Pool
• A special exhibition by the SCUBAnauts (a group of nautical teens)
• Healthy cooking demonstrations by the All Children's Hospital Fit4Allkids program
• Publix Store #640, Gordon Food Service, Chick-fil-A and the St. Petersburg Firefighters Union provided mouth-watering refreshments for everyone, and Members of the USFSP BBQ Club grilled the hot dogs

A huge thank you to those whose generous donations made this event possible: North Pinellas Fire Explorers, ParentGuide Magazine, POOLCORP and Safe Kids USA, and kudos to the Safe Kids Coalition's Florida Safe Pools (FSP) Committee Members for their leadership. A special thank you to Wendy Loomas, Pinellas County Health Department; Pat Vines, City of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue; Teresa Przetocki, USFSP water front pool; FSP members and event co-chairs, who kept everyone focused.