Did you know that 107 Texas children lost their lives to drowning? And that six times as many children survived non fatal drowning incidents? This year 45 Texas children have already lost their lives to drowning.  Drowning is still the number one cause of unintentional death for children under 5 and a leading cause for ages 1-14. These drownings are preventable!

I first got involved with the Colin's Hope charity in 2010 when I nearly lost someone extremely close to me to drowning.  Luckily this person whom I love with all my heart did not become a statistic. I knew I had to take my experience and turn it into something positive. This year I will raise $614 for Colin's Hope. These funds will provide swim lessons and safety classes for children, more families will receive water safety education, and our life jacket loaner stations at area lakes will be fully stocked.  

The picture above is after one of our swims. I forget which year. But that's me and my best friend Becca in the kayak serving as my water guardian. It is always a very emotional day. We're swimming and left alone with our thoughts for several hours. I never knew Colin or his family before getting involved with Colin's Hope, but I always spend the majority of my time in the water thinking about him, his family and the good that we're doing. Tears are often shed inside my goggles. This year I'll be swimming 10K, roughly 6ish miles in Lake Travis.

So I'm going to ask you to please watch this video about Colin's Hope. If afterward you feel so inclined, please donate to our cause and to my fundraising goal of $614.  www.colinshope.org/ourstory 

Any amount helps, thanks!

Denise