Golden Isles Water Safety
Authors: Chelsea Benson, Sam Forgason, Gillian Letizia, & Alex McLean
Faculty Supervisor: Ashley Barnes, MSN, RN, CNE
Abstract:
Our group chose water safety for our service-learning topic because it is a very important issue in the Southeast Coastal Georgia area. Our area is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the marsh, swamp, rivers, Intercoastal Waterways, other bodies of open water, and both private and public swimming pools. Drowning is preventable. Everyone should learn to swim, wear personal floatation devices (PFD) when in or around the water, and know the signs of drowning. Our group taught the proper fit and wear of different US Coast Guard approved PFDs, provided printed educational material on water safety, water safety coloring books and gave away one free swim lesson from the Brunswick YMCA. We emphasized communication in accessible language so that anyone could learn. We utilized different aspects of learning to appeal to different groups, both children and adult. We focused on ensuring a wide variety of topical information that could easily be utilized in a manner that could save a life.
