In 1995 the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water awarded a small grant to Lake Gaston Water Safety Council of North Carolina to provide a community based life jacket loaner program for kids. The council was able to influence area marinas around the lake to hang signs and store bins of life jackets which enabled area families to borrow life jackets from several locations. The public loved the program and through the course of two summers began to rely heavily on it. As unexpected young guests would arrive to go boating or as a child grew beyond the capacity of a life jacket families borrowed life jackets at no cost to use for the day or the weekend. Due to the success of this and several other localized life jacket loaner programs the BoatU.S. Foundation has begun its own nationwide Life Jacket Loaner Program for Kids.
Children typically drown in under three minutes.
By wearing the right sized life jacket their chance of survival in the water increases dramatically. The BoatU.S. Foundation will select approximately 50 groups for participation and will equip each with an equipment kit and a publicity kit. A boating family will observe a promotional sign at a waterfront marina, boat ramp, store or restaurant promoting the Life Jacket Loaner Program for Kids. The staff member or volunteer will log their information and will distribute the appropriate size life jacket. This is determined by weight of child and the child trying it on before use.