Kids Don’t Float ambassadors making waves in the Mat-Su

Palmer High School students in Mrs. Francine Lombard’s swimming class embraced the Kids Don’t Float Ambassador program right from the start of the 2016-2017 academic school year. These students decided they wanted to make a difference in their community, so they built a Kids Don’t Float (KDF) life jacket loaner board and partnered with various businesses and other agencies to make it happen.

The Palmer High KDF Ambassadors were the sparkplugs that made this project a success but they also had the help of several local organizations and agencies. Spenard Builders Supply donated the lumber and hardware needed to build the Kids Don’t Float life jacket loaner board and they employed the help of Mr. Gilbert Campbell’s wood shop in clarifying the plans and directing the actual building of the loaner board.

Doug Hill from Alaska Fish and Game, Lands and Refuge Program helped find an ideal location for the life jacket loaner board - the Rabbit Slough boat launch. This is the 20th year anniversary of the Kids Don’t Float life jacket loaner board program which began in Homer, Alaska and is the oldest of its kind in the nation. Since its inception, it has been adopted by several other countries, U.S. states, counties and national organizations. The program is credited with helping save at least 28 lives to date. Over 110,000 Alaskan participants have attended a Kids Don’t Float education program class. “Five out of six boating fatalities are a result of a vessel capsize, swamping or fall overboard, mainly men not wearing a life jacket,” says Kelli Toth, Education Specialist and spokesperson for the Alaska Office of Boating Safety. “Wearing a life jacket is your best defense against cold water immersion. We are so proud of the Palmer High School Kids Don’t Float Ambassadors, who knows, they may even save a few lives by encouraging life jacket wear and making life jackets accessible at the Rabbit Slough boat launch.”

The initiative and dedication the Palmer High School Kids Don’t Float Ambassadors have shown is truly inspirational and is a valuable example of how teamwork and an understanding of community outreach can have a successful impact on reducing Alaska’s high child and teen drowning rate. The Palmer High School students continue to show their support for the program by co-teaching Kids Don’t Float boating safety classes throughout the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.