Hello Friends,

Last July 4, Jachin's 16 year old brother, Nathan, was dropped off by his father at Lake Georgetown to spend the day with his church youth group.  Within 10 minutes of arriving, one of the girls challenged the others to swim across a portion of the lake.  Nathan, who was a strong young man, but not a good swimmer, drowned within minutes of entering the water.  Nathan's 3 brothers, sister, and parents miss him so very much.

Jachin and his siblings still love swimming, but they are acutely aware of the need to know survival swimming skills and to practice water safety at all times.   To help promote water safety, Jachin is racing in the 2018 Colin's Hope Kids Triathlon on August 26th. Drowning is the #2 cause of accidental death for children 14 and under, but it is preventable! 

Please consider helping Jachin's fundraising efforts to reach (or exceed) $1000 and support Colin's Hope's mission of raising water safety awareness.  Nathan was one of the 80 Texas children who lost their lives due to drowning last year.  With your help, we hope that number will be drastically reduced in future years.

Be safe and enjoy the summer! 

Hi Everyone!

Did you know that 80 Texas children lost their lives to a fatal drowning last year? Or that 5x as many children survived a non-fatal drowning? We didn't. So far, at least 70 Texas children (just like us) lost their lives to a fatal drowning! Imagine 2 empty school busses pulling up to OUR school. Each seat should have been filled by a child who sadly, died after drowning. Then imagine 10 more school busses pulling up. THOSE seats are filled with the kids who have survived a non-fatal drowning. This is so sad. Drowning is PREVENTABLE, yet drowning is still the #1 CAUSE OF UNINTENTIONAL INJURY-RELATED DEATH for children under 5 and a leading cause for ages 1-14.

As young athletes (who swim...and bike and run), we want to make a difference!  Guess, what? You can help us do exactly that. We are participating in the Colin's Hope Kids Triathlon on Sunday, August 26th. Over 400 of us will swim, bike and run to raise funds and awareness for drowning prevention and Colin's Hope. To learn more about how Colin's Hope is preventing drowning you can view Our Story on Facebook or YouTube. 

We are TRI-ing to honor and celebrate all the children who have lost their lives to a fatal drowning or who have survived a non-fatal drowning. You can learn more about their stories here. When you read about all the children who have tragically drowned and see their faces, we know you'll want to help.

Will you please pledge your support for all of the amazing Colin's Hope Kids Triathletes and for drowning prevention by making a donation of any amount to this Colin's Hope Kids Tri Team Pledge Page. We have a goal to raise at least $15,000! It is a big goal, but we know that we can do it together! Every dollar raised means drownings prevented and lives saved. These funds will will allow more preschool children to receive swim safety classes and swim lessons, more families to receive water safety education and life jacket loaner stations at area lakes to be re-stocked. Thank you for your donation and for sharing our vision of a world where children do not drown.

Wait! We also challenge you to see how much you know about water safety by doing these two things:

• Take and share the Colin's Hope Water Safety Quiz at www.colinshope.org/quiz  
• Talk to your kids, friends and family about water safety and changing behaviors to be safer around water.

Thank you again for supporting our efforts. We are proud to be Athlete Ambassadors for Water Safety and Drowning Prevention for the 10th Annual Colin's Hope Kids Triathlon. Thank you for cheering us on to make a difference. And, as Colin used to say, Have the "Best Day Ever"!