Red Cross and Army Community Service Team Up to Serve Local Teens

Check out a recent article in the Fort Lee Traveller that highlights the Red Cross’s Summer Teen Leadership Program. The Program was a partnership between the American Red Cross, Virginia Capital Region and the Army Community Service program at Fort Lee.

American Red Cross, Virginia Capital Region Staff Demonstrate Hands-Only CPR on “Virginia This Morning.”

This past week, staff from the American Red Cross, Virginia Capital Region were guests on the CBS6 “Virginia This Morning” program. During the interview, the discussed the importance of learning life saving skills, while demonstrating Hands-Only CPR to the team at CBS. You can view the full interview on www.wtvr.com/vtm

To learn more about classes offered by the Red Cross visit virginiacapitalredcross.org

Red Cross Survey Shows Nearly 80 Percent of Americans Plan Water-related Summer Activities, but a Third Lack Sufficient Swimming Skills

More than a third of people planning to swim, boat or fish this summer cannot swim well, according to a new American Red Cross survey.

 The survey¹ of more than 1,000 adults, taken earlier this spring, found that 78 percent of households are planning at least one water-related recreational activity this summer. However, 37 percent describe their swimming skills as fair, lacking or non-existent – with 13 percent unable to swim at all.

 “Water safety is important for swimmers and non-swimmers alike, and the best thing anyone can do to help stay safe during water-related activities is to learn how to swim,” said Jonathan McNamara, regional director of donor and media relations at the American Red Cross, Virginia Capital Region. 

Proper adult supervision is essential during water activities, as the survey showed that half of those surveyed will be in charge of supervising a child near a pool, lake or other body of water this summer.

 

“Most adults realize that leaving a child temporarily unsupervised near or in the water is never acceptable, yet, sadly, every year lives are lost because of this,” McNamara added.  

 

Children should not go near or enter the water without the permission and supervision of an adult. Those who own a home pool should secure it with appropriate barriers and install pool and gate alarms.

 

The Red Cross recommends designating at least one adult to solely be responsible for watching those in and around the water – even if a lifeguard is present. Adults should be in the water with inexperienced swimmers and remain within arm’s reach of them.

 

This “arm’s-reach supervision” is safer than putting water wings or floaties on a small child, as these items are not designed to keep a child’s face out of the water and can leak, slip-off and provide a false sense of security. However, the survey found that a third of the survey respondents (32 percent) mistakenly believed that the floaties were safer than arms-reach supervision.

 

More Men Know How to Swim than Women

According to the Red Cross survey, men were more likely to know how to swim than women (92 percent versus 82 percent) and 29 percent of those 65 and older could not swim at all.

 

Men were more confident in their abilities to handle water emergencies than women. For example, more than half of men (54 percent) said they could safely handle a situation where someone is in water over their head, compared to 36 percent of women.

 

Water Safety is Important for the Entire Family

The survey found that nearly 6 in 10 people said that they learned to swim between the ages of 5 and 10, but water safety should be a life-long commitment.

 

The Red Cross has been a leader in aquatics training for more than 95 years and has developed a comprehensive program starting with Parent and Child Aquatics (6 months to about 5 years old) through lessons for adults. Participants learn swimming skills with a strong emphasis on drowning prevention and water safety.

Water safety tips and information can be found on www.redcross.org. People can contact the American Red Cross, Virginia Capital Region at (804) 780-2250 to find out where Learn-to-Swim programs are offered.

¹ Details: Telephone survey of 1,085 U.S. adults 18 years and older on April 7-11, 2011, conducted by ORC International. Margin of error is +/- 3.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

 About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.