Blake Collingsworth speaks to the Atlantic Kiwanis Club on May 10, 2018 about the Josh the Otter Program

The Atlantic Kiwanis Club welcomed in some special guests at their meeting on May 10th including Blake Collingsworth who heads up the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation and Josh the Otter Program. The Atlantic Kiwanis Club has been implementing the Josh the Otter water safety program in the Atlantic school district for about 8 years now and they were presenting their latest program to Kindergarten students at Washington Elementary on Thursday.

The program was started by Blake and Kathy Collingsworth after their son Josh died in a tragic drowning accident in the family pool when he was 2 and a half years old. In speaking with the Atlantic Kiwanis Club Blake Collingsworth stated that he wants the program to help kids understand at a young age that they need to be with an adult when they are around water.  After Josh’s death the family created the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation and then wrote the Josh The Baby Otter book to help deliver their message.

Blake shared that the number one cause of unintended death of children 4 and under is drowning, something he was upset he didn’t know sooner. He also said drowning is the #2 cause of unintended death of children 14 and under. He hopes that the Josh the Otter program can change the statistics and save lives.

Collingsworth also works with the National Drowning Prevention Association and said statistics show that drowning deaths have decreased by 17% since 2010 and he believes his son Josh and this program is a part of that progress. The Josh the Otter Program has been implemented all around the United States, into Australia, and continues to grow. They have distributed over 250,000 books through service organization efforts.

Kindergarten students in Atlantic, Massena, and Anita receive a copy of the Josh the Otter book when they attend the program. Atlantic Kiwanis Member and project leader Steve Green said they hope to spread the program to the Griswold schools by next year as well. Collingsworth thanked the Atlantic Kiwanis Group for bringing his message to the area.

Find out more about the Foundation and program at www.joshtheotter.org