I had a different email [ post ] planned (changes happening here at YLO – will share in next email:) but instead I’m sharing a cool thing I did yesterday – behind the scenes of that experience and awareness of something that is important.

Very cool experience 

Yesterday I had an amazing opportunity to talk to Dan Fleyshman during Jen Gottlieb and Chris Winfield’s Super Connector Mastermind call. Dan is host of The Money Mondays podcast which is consistently rated #1 entrepreneur show on APPLE iTunes charts, the youngest founder of a publicly traded company in history,, has angel invested in 43 companies + so much more.

 

Dan also broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest toy drive, but his main passions are his 26-acre animal sanctuary named WYLD Jungle and his charity (Model Citizen Fund) which supplies backpacks for the homeless filled with 150 emergency supply items. (I’ll share his links at the end.)

 

Because of his passion and knowledge on nonprofits I took the opportunity (daily dare! IYKYK:) to ask him a question about something I’d like do make happen in the future:

 

Water Watch™ :  I’m putting (back) out there now

… at least to plant the seed.  And then trust that what needs to happen will happen when it should.   Here’s the backstory of how it came about:

 

The Story Behind WaterWatch™

Labor Day weekend years ago my family and I were on vacation at the beach.  I told everyone I’d be right back – had to run into the house.

 

When I came back out five minutes later I could tell there was something horribly wrong.  Everyone was standing along the shoreline – someone had gone under and they couldn’t find them.  I frantically looked for my boys (around three and five at the time) who had been playing in the sand.

 

Fortunately, after the longest minute of my life, I found them up near the dunes still playing, but tragically the child that had gone under wasn’t recovered by the coast guards until 20 minutes later.  My then husband and another guy had grabbed boogie boards when they saw the boy was in distress but the he went under right before they could get to him.

 

Watching his family desperately run down the beach where he was found and then have to walk back without him as the ambulance carried his body away was the most gut wrenching thing I’ve ever witnessed.

 

Drowning is silent and can happen in a flash.  And that could have been one of my boys because I had not designated a person to watch when I went inside.  

 

Having several people around can provide a false sense of security but drownings happen quickly and silently and if someone isn’t actively watching, tragedy can happen in an instant.  

 

The rest of that vacation had a solemn cast over it as we hurt so much thinking of that poor family and wondering how can we protect our kids? How can we designate a specific someone to watch while they are in or around water?  

That’s when we thought about a water proof wristband that designates a specific someone in charge of watching and that can be easily transferred to another when needed. Then my mom said – it could be called Water Watch, (a play off of a regular watch you’d wear).

 

I looked into getting a few made for our next vacation and the manufacturer said, “If you buy 100 I’ll give you 100 more free.”  I thought, okay I have to do something with these, so I drafted up a plan, trademarked the name and sent out a few samples to a handful of local news sources. It was quickly picked up on TV, radio and was featured in Jacksonville magazine below.

 

Several of the news sources I sent a sample to did a story on it, including Jacksonville magazine (btw, I was using my maiden middle during that time if you notice different name:)

 

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT THERE:  

 

When I had the bands made, the manufacture rep asked me, So you want Water Watch imprinted on the front, what do you want on the back of the band?  I paused for a few seconds and then threw out – Watch When Wearing.  

 

Then I came up with the idea of a Watch WHO’S Wearing campaign where celebrities, influencers and anyone who wants to support / spread awareness to post a selfie wearing the band tagging WaterWatch and using #WATERWATCH #WATCHWHENWEARING #WATCHWHOSWEARING  which would lead to a one-minute water safety video that – after watching  – would bring powerful awareness of the widespread dangers of kids (+ adults) and water including these facts and visuals:

  • Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under five in Florida [and other states], and the second leading cause of injury and death in older children.
  • Children down quickly and silently in a matter of seconds. Adults who were present when a child drowned were often distracted. They may have been talking on the phone, chatting with other adults around the pool, or reading. Drownings happen even when many people are around (just one example: an 8-year old at Tommy Lee and Pamela Lee Anderson’s son’s birthday party)
  • Drownings affect all socioeconomic levels, happen everywhere around the world and can happen at any age. (A few years later we also witnessed another tragedy where the father went to save his kids who were in distress – sadly, the father and one of the kids did not make it. Knowing how to look for rip currents and what to do if you find yourself in one (even if you’re a strong swimmer) is crucial!  And if you ever have to go help someone make sure you have a floatable device of some kind.
  • Visibility is greatly reduced even in a clear pool when people are splashing around.  A powerful visual I came across which I’d include in the video used a dummy to show how easily someone becomes invisible at bottom of a shallow, clear pool:
    • When no one is in the pool, the dummy can be seen crystal clear.
    • Add in one person:  the ripples make it harder to see. 
    • Add in a few more people: the dummy is practically invisible. 

 

I believe the awareness from this video alone can have a powerful affect, but would love to also get Water Watch™ bands and message into places including:

  • new pool owners (from pool builder)
  • hospital newborn welcome bags
  • swim schools
  • preschools

Learning how to swim along with water safety guidelines are of course vital but WaterWatch™ can be a good addition in training kids as well, for example: Do not put a foot on the pool deck / get in the water unless I have this band on and tell you it’s okay.

 

ON HOLD

 

My life took a turn a month after WaterWatch™ was featured in that August 2012 magazine edition as I went through an unexpected divorce. I had to go into survival mode which meant putting a pause on my own business dreams along with this WaterWatch™ project.

 

Fortunately I’m back at that place where I can focus on building my business and while I don’t have the capacity to put all of my focus on Water Watch™ at this time I’m trusting the best resources will come into play when it’s time.  I’ve had too many darn signs over the years that this is something I need to get out there, and a very wise advisor said it’ll be much more impactful when it’s done when timing is right.

 

So with that incredible opportunity on the call with Dan, I felt the need to at least plant the seed and see what happens.  

 

With that being said, have fun and stay save around the water! 🩵💙

 

Where to find … 

Dan Fleyshman:

Jen Gottlieb: