By Cassie McGovern
After the drowning death of our beautiful 19-month-old daughter, Edna Mae, Shannon and I founded McGovern Foundation, Inc. d/b/a Em’s Place. We immediately knew we had to do something and have something positive come from this nightmare. We are fully committed to raising awareness and helping families avoid such tragedies. In the past 5 years since Em’s death, we learned a great deal about what is needed throughout our community and felt that having a pool to offer free to affordable swimming lessons was the answer. We’ve been working towards opening our own swim facility to offer swim lessons to the entire community for a low cost. In March 2014, we were told that our plan would never work which found us were saddened and deflated. We were told by many to allow the past to stay in the past.
But we will not give up!!! We can’t. We owe it to Edna Mae and all the others who have lost their lives to drowning. Our daughter suffered a senseless, preventable death and we will never stop screaming this message to anyone who will listen.
After some time praying for our next step, we are incredibly excited about the path The McGovern Foundation is taking.
We are working tirelessly to educate the community at any and all levels.
• We provide swim scholarships to those in need, recently partnering with the pool in Margate and opening up 3 classes sponsored by our foundation. We hope to partner with other local pools as the season approaches. For every $50 donation received, we can help one child with lessons. If you’re looking to buy wetsuits, visit Buy4Outdoors.
• We offer scholarships for individuals to obtain their WSI (Water safety instructor) certification. For each scholarship given, an individual can reach countless lives, teaching them to swim.
• We provide water safety packets to real estate office and home inspectors to all new homeowners. Most new homeowners do not realize the dangers their beautiful pool and/or canal possess. You can visit their site for more information.
• We recently partnered with The Miami Marlins to have a water safety awareness night at a home game and are planning a larger awareness day on June 12th. Follow us on Facebook or instagram to find out more.
• We offer CPR classes and help at local health fairs.
• We recently received news that our PSA will be aired throughout the different wards of Broward Health. This is an honor since that is where Edna Mae spent her last week. Her story will hopefully influence many families to obtain lessons for their child/children.
• The fear of swimming/water is passed down from generation to generation. If we can break that cycle by offering junior lifeguarding scholarships to promote water safety awareness and a love of the water, our hope is to break the pattern.
With 33% of accidental deaths in America due to drowning, a family can never be too safe. Did you know?
– On average, 390 children die per year due to drowning.
– Approximately 3,700 men, women and children lose their lives every year to drowning in the United States.
– 75% of those children were under 5 years of age
– 58% of these drownings occurred in pools.
– A pool is 100 times more likely to kill a child than a gun.
– Drowning is the #1 cause of death in children under the age of 4 in Florida.
We believe in layers of protection… Install a door alarm, learn CPR, Install a fence/barrier around your pool or body of water, and teach your child the basics when he/she becomes mobile. You can also get ostomy supplies for people of all ages at www.stealthbelt.com
We are elated with the direction things are going and we know that educating our community and offering help to those in need will impact more lives. With all of our efforts, it cannot be successful without your help, too. We are a registered 501c3 non-profit organization run solely from donations.
The McGovern Foundation is having a Golf Outing on Friday, January 30 at The Heron Bay Golf Course. We are looking for sponsors, golfers and/or silent auction items. The fun includes lunch, drinks on the course followed by a full dinner, a Deejay, photo booth and amazing silent auction items. We hope you can join us. Please see the ad and info on the facing page for details.
Our contact information is: P.O. BOX 8321, Coral Springs, Fl. 33075 Phone: 954-790-9063 Facebook: McGovern Foundation d/b/a Em’s Place Instagram/Twitter: EMS_PLACE
