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Mason's Gift was incorporated on October 25, 2011 as a community based non-profit foundation, by my husband and myself, in response to our 2-1/2 year old son's drowning death on March 27, 2009. We hope you will learn from our mistakes so that you can avoid this preventable, heart breaking tragedy. Our 501(c)(3) status/application has been filed with the IRS and is currently pending approval.

Our Mission: to end childhood drownings.

Drowning is THE leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1- 4 nationwide. It is the second leading cause of unintentional death for children ages 1-14 years. It is the fifth leading cause of unintentional death for all ages (stats from CDC), yet according to the Safe Kids Coalition, nearly 60% of parents/caregivers do not see drowning as a threat to their family. Here in Florida, we lead the nation for unintentional drownings in children aged 1-4 years. But DROWNING IS PREVENTABLE! We believe that by teaching all people, young and old, to respect the water - we can put an end to this VERY PREVENTABLE tragedy. We believe in respecting the water, not fearing it or assuming nothing bad will ever happen. Swimming pools and beaches can be a source of endless fun creating happy family memories that will last for a lifetime. Unfortunately, it can also be the source of tremendous grief, if we do not follow some simple steps that can keep ourselves and our loved ones safer. LAYERS OF PROTECTION are a must!

Mason was a gift to our family. He taught us so much in the short 2-1/2 years he spent on this earth. And through his death, he has taught us even more. We thought we had done so much to keep our little boy safe, but after his drowning, we learned there was so much more we could have done. It is our hope that you will learn from our tragic mistakes, so that your family never, ever has to go through the devastation; the anguish of losing a child to a preventable death.

Mason's Gift is a community based non-profit organization located in Pinellas County, Florida. The money generously donated to Mason's Gift will be used to educate the community on how to keep themselves and their families, primarily children ages 1-4 years, safer in and around the water. Community outreach programs, such as water safety seminars given at parents' groups, water safety seminars given in preschools or classrooms and public water safety days (to name a few) will be offered throughout the year, usually free of charge. Full or partial scholarships for swim lessons will also be available for qualifying families. The swim school is scheduled to open in May or June of 2013, so keep checking back for a download-able scholarship application!

We will create and distribute safety information for the community which will be handed out to participants of our safety events and through public education seminars being held at various parent's groups. We will also be going into schools to educate children on water safety.
We will be using the money to pay for full or partial scholarships for swim lessons for qualifying families. An application will be made available. The swim lessons will be available at our swim school, which is tentatively scheduled to open in June 2012. Our style of teaching will focus on safety, independent swimming & floating and FUN!
A portion of the money will be used to pay for fundraising events or water safety day events, such as park fees, insurance and additional fees to hold these events.
A small portion of money donated may be used to fund instructor training. As Mason's Gift grows, we hope to be able to offer many full and partial scholarships, and hope to have new instructors on board with us in our goal to end childhood drownings!