Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jeremy Zoss, 612-919-5918
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, Abbey's Hope, and Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation Partner for Lifejacket Giveaway at Parkers Lake
July 26, 2021 (Minneapolis) - To promote the usage of U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation devices while swimming, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation and the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation to give away free lifejackets to children and adults. The organizations will hold their second joint lifejacket giveaway on Saturday, July 31st at 1 p.m. at Parkers Lake Beach in Plymouth.
The three organizations will hand out 125 brand-new U.S. Coast Guard-approved lifejackets at the event. The lifejackets were purchased by Abbey’s Hope and the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation.
The lifejackets are expected to go quickly, so early arrival is recommended. Lifejackets will be available in a variety of sizes, from infant to adult.
What: Lifejacket giveaway with Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Abbey’s Hope and Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation.
When: Saturday, July 31th at 1:00 pm
Where: Parkers Lake Beach, 15205 County Road 6, Plymouth, MN 55441.
Why: To promote the usage of U.S. Coast Guard-approved floatation devices while swimming.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Abbey’s Hope held their first joint lifejacket giveaway last month at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, during which 75 lifejackets were distributed in about 20 minutes.
After the success of the first lifejacket giveaway, the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation has made a significant financial pledge to fund multiple lifejacket giveaway events in 2022. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Abbey’s Hope, and the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation hope to give away 2,000 lifejackets by the end of summer 2022.
“Based on the turnout of our first event, it was obvious that we’d have to host another lifejacket giveaway,” said Sheriff David P. Hutchinson. “Encouraging children to wear Coast Guard-approved lifejackets while swimming, especially in open water, is such an easy way to prevent a fun day from turning tragic. It’s looking like the rest of the summer will be quite warm, so we really want to get out to the lakes to encourage safe water recreation.”
“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation to work towards our shared goal of promoting water safety,” said Katey Taylor, Founder & President of Abbey's Hope Charitable Foundation. “Our organizations are dedicated to educating parents and caregivers on ways to be safe in natural water settings. We cannot say this too much: the best way to prevent a water-related tragedy is to wear a properly fitted, Coast Guard approved life jacket every time you are near, on, or in the water.”
These lifejacket giveaway events are the latest component of Sheriff Hutchinson’s summer Play It Safe initiative. The Play It Safe Initiative is a simple public awareness campaign utilizing traditional and social media aimed at educating the public about tips for a fun and safe summer for people of all ages on the water. Play it Safe is part of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office’s Water and Ice Safety Education (WISE) program, which educates the public on how to be safe during all types of water recreation.
Sheriff Hutchinson says it’s imperative that everyone has fun on the water the rest of the summer, but that they also “play it safe” to prevent a repeat of last year’s record drownings. According to DNR statistics, there were 49 people died by drowning in Minnesota in 2020, the most drownings in the state in a decade. The number of fatal boating accidents last year also reached a five-year high. Sixteen people were killed in boating related crashes in 2020.
About Abbey’s Hope: Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation is a Minnesota nonprofit organization named after Abbey Taylor, the 6-year-old from Edina, Minnesota who died in 2008 because of injuries sustained by an improperly maintained pool drain cover. The Foundation’s goals are to promote awareness and education of child safety issues, including the dangers of pool entrapment, evisceration and drowning and the need for physical inspections of pool equipment. Abbey’s Hope works with the pool and spa industry to improve the design of its products, packaging and warning labels, and development of product safety standards related to such products. Abbey’s Hope partners with other organizations and programs that educate about the prevention of entrapment and traditional forms of drowning. Learn more at abbeyshope.org/.
About Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation The Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to strengthening public safety through youth-based activity programs, education, intervention, outreach and 21st century crime fighting tools and programs.
While entirely independent of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Foundation collaborates with the Sheriff and his staff to identify and prioritize special needs that are not funded through the Hennepin County budget process. The Foundation provides grants to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office to fund new or existing programs with the goal of facilitating innovative solutions to the increasingly complex and underfunded problems confronted by law enforcement.
– HCSO–
Look for more news on
the Hennepin County Sheriff's website at http://www.hennepinsheriff.org.
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