The ZAC Foundation Collaborates With The American Red Cross On Its Newly Updated Swim App

Children and Adults Can Learn to Enjoy the Water Safely with “Swim” by the American Red Cross

GREENWICH, CT – May 26, 2021 – The ZAC Foundation (TZF), a national nonprofit dedicated to improving water safety by funding advocacy, education, and effective programming to safeguard children and their families, today announced its sponsorship of the American Red Cross Swim app released this week to promote water safety for parents and caregivers of young people learning how to swim.

The app, called “Swim,” helps the entire family by focusing on water competency, which involves a combination of being water smart, having water safety and survival skills, and knowing what to do in a water emergency. The app also teaches users the layers of protection needed to prevent drowning and provides information about risks around water at home, in other environments, such as lakes, rivers and oceans, as well as in risky situations, such as group gatherings involving water.

“The American Red Cross Swim app is a tool to help teach and reinforce important water safety lessons to parents and children through a variety of engaging quizzes, videos and other activities,” said Karen Cohn, The ZAC Foundation Co-founder. “We are honored to collaborate with the American Red Cross on this vitally important initiative.”

“Our Swim app is an important tool for helping people of all ages safely enjoy the water this swim season,” said Connie Harvey, National Director of Aquatics Centennial Initiatives for the American Red Cross.

“Swim” helps users get the most out of Red Cross swim lessons with a skills progress tracker, as well as sharable badges, videos and more while making learning fun. Specific features of the app include:

• Proactive drowning prevention guidance, including how to provide active supervision around water and choosing a quality swim lesson program;
• Videos, infographics and links to additional resources for adults to help further understanding;
• A Kids section with water safety messages using memorable phrases to reinforce learning;
• Sharable badges for adults and children to reward achievements for mastering knowledge and/or skills;
• Videos that show what skill levels to expect during the progression of learning to swim; and
• Charts to track the skills and water safety topics a young swimmer will learn at each Learn-to-Swim level.

New updates include information about avoiding drain entrapment, water safety around the home, updated general water safety tips and links to The ZAC Foundation’s website and Facebook pages.

Additional new updates include an opening “tour” reorganized to start with safety content, revolving top banner facts/stats revised with positive messages about drowning prevention and benefits of participating in water activities, and an enhanced and expanded safety section broken into two categories (General Water Safety and a new Water Safety at Home section). The app also features new videos, links to online courses, quizzes for adults, and a refreshed Kids section.

To download the app, text SWIM to 90999 and the Red Cross will send you a link — or you can search for American Red Cross in the iTunes app store or GooglePlay.

To learn more about The ZAC Foundation and its work preparing children and families for a lifetime of water safety, visit www.thezacfoundation.org.

To learn more about the Red Cross and its water safety programs, visit redcross.org/watersafety.

About The ZAC Foundation

The ZAC Foundation was established in 2008 by Karen and Brian Cohn after the loss of their 6-year-old son Zachary Archer Cohn in a pool drain entrapment in their backyard swimming pool. Through education and advocacy, the Foundation has educated more than 20,000 children and their families on the importance of water safety and is dedicated to continue preparing more for a lifetime of water safety. To learn more about The ZAC Foundation, connect with us on Facebook and TheZACFoundation.org.