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US Swim School Association Guides Parents Through Performing a Water Safety Audit in their Home

Drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children aged 1–4 years, and while swimming pools are a major risk, not all deaths occur in or around a pool. There are many potential risks for drowning in the average home. Parents with young children should regularly conduct a home water safety audit to determine where the risks are in their home and what they can do to better protect their children. The United States Swim School Association, the preeminent swim school organization in the country, has created a guide for parents to follow when conducting an audit.

Home Water Safety Audit Tips

• When performing a water safety audit in your home, first create a list of each room inside your home and include garages, sheds, front yard and back yard, and other structures on your property as rooms so you can check them off your list as you survey each area.
• Look for common risk factors found in the average home in each room including buckets, diaper pails, toilets, ice chests/coolers, hot tubs, spas and whirlpools, ditches and post holes, wells, ponds and fountains.
• Identify unique risks in each area of your home and list them under that room. For example:
• Kitchen – dishes are left soaking in a sink filled with soap and water overnight.
• Laundry room – the utility sink has a bucket sitting in it with a few inches of water leftover from cleaning the floors.
• Back yard – old five gallon buckets were left sitting upright behind the shed and could collect rainwater.
• Bathroom – the bathtub doesn’t drain properly and sometimes water can be left sitting in it for over an hour after it is used.
• Front yard – a decorative fountain could be a risk when the kids play outside.
• Fill your bathtub with the amount of water normally used during bathing and use a stopwatch to time how long it takes to drain. Never leave the bathroom unsupervised after a bath until that amount of time has passed.
• Create a plan for correcting or mitigating risks in your home including toilet lid locks, pool fences and other barriers.
• To remind yourself to change habits like soaking dishes in the kitchen sink over night, post a note next to the sink.
• Correct any issues in the home like slow draining sinks or bath tubs, improperly stored buckets or containers, children’s play pools, etc. Hire a plumber to fix drains if you do not have the expertise and always store buckets or containers upside down so water cannot collect in them.
• For risks installed in your home landscaping including fountains, fishponds, ditches, etc. consider putting up barriers to block children from falling into them and carefully supervise children playing outside.

In addition to surveying the home for potential drowning risks, parents should also know how to react to a drowning situation by learning CPR and keeping up to date with certifications.

To find a USSSA affiliated swim school near you, or for details on becoming a member of the nation’s leading swim school organization visit: http://www.usswimschools.org.

About US Swim School Association

US Swim School Association (USSSA) began in 1988 to fill a gap in the swim school industry. USSSA has become the largest and preeminent swim school association in the country with over 400 members providing swim and water safety instruction to over 500,000 students each year. Swim schools receive invaluable benefits as USSSA members, receiving the latest training in water safety, swim instruction methods and tools, invitations to annual conferences, and many other benefits that help establish and build each individual business. USSSA has partnered with Safer 3 Water Safety Foundation for its official water safety program. Through USSSA, parents and students are provided with a reliable and trustworthy resource when searching for a swim school and can rest assured they have chosen a top school when they choose a USSSA affiliated location. For more information, visit www.usswimschools.org.

Help launch African Americans for Hillary!

This Friday, Hillary will be in Atlanta to kick-off African Americans for Hillary. She’ll discuss how together we’ll tackle the issues facing African Americans, from raising incomes, to criminal justice reform, to voting rights. 

Come hear from the glass-ceiling breaker herself -- and a whole bunch of special guests. Here are the details:

WHAT: African Americans for Hillary Kick-Off

with Hillary Clinton

WHEN: Friday, October 30, 2015

1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Clark Atlanta University

650 Fair Street 

Epps Gymnasium

Atlanta, Georgia 30314 

This is an important moment for the campaign. Prepare to be inspired and leave informed about what Hillary is going to do to improve the lives of families in Georgia and around the country. 

RSVP as soon as you can. Space is limited:

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/meet-hillary-in-atlanta/

Thanks,

Sojourner Marable Grimmett

Fulton County Arts & Culture South Fulton Arts Center presents 2015 Family Film Festival

Free Halloween Event - This Sunday

Free fun, food & surprises. Please join us at the Anderson Park Recreation Center located at 120 Anderson Ave NW Atlanta, GA 30314. For more information, please contact Sgt. Flinders at JFlinders@AtlantaGa.Gov.

"African Americans for Hillary" Grassroots Organizing Event in Atlanta

Hillary Clinton is Coming to Atlanta!

Join Hillary Clinton at the "African Americans for Hillary" Grassroots Organizing Event! 

On Friday, October 30, 2015 Hillary Clinton will launch "African Americans for Hillary" at a grassroots organizing event at Clark Atlanta University. During the event, Clinton will lay out how she’s fighting to address issues important to the African American community.

Members of the public interested in attending can RSVP here: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/events/view/?id=733508 

WHERE: Clark Atlanta University, Epps Gymnasium, 650 Fair Street, Atlanta, GA 30314

WHEN: Friday, October 30, 2015 at 2:30PM

DOORS OPEN: 1:00 PM

See you there! 

Sojourner Marable Grimmett

The Fresh Market’s “Cupcakes for a Cause” campaign raises over $300,000in support of No Kid Hungry®

During the month of September, The Fresh Market hosted its third annual Cupcakes for a Cause campaign to benefit No Kid Hungry®. Thanks to the generosity of customers across the country, the two week campaign raised a total of $300,045. Since the launch of the partnership in 2013, The Fresh Market has raised over $1 million to help end childhood hunger in the United States, where one in five children struggle with hunger.

“Childhood hunger is a problem that affects nearly every community in our country, and The Fresh Market is honored to play a role in helping No Kid Hungry raise awareness and funds to combat this issue,” said Rick Anicetti, the company’s chief executive officer. “We hope The Fresh Market customers and employees have been inspired by the Cupcakes for a Cause program to fight childhood hunger in America, and we are grateful for their generosity.”

“The Fresh Market Cupcakes for a Cause campaign has made a tremendous impact on childhood hunger by connecting kids in need with nearly 3 million healthy meals” said Founder and CEO of Share Our Strength Billy Shore. “We are thankful for The Fresh Market’s support in helping us end child hunger in the United States and ensuring that children have access to healthy food where they live, learn and play.”

Each of The Fresh Market’s 178 stores, located across the Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, raised money through the company’s Design a Bag Challenge reusable bag sales, Cupcakes for a Cause paper cupcake sales, and its signature Cupcakes for a Cause cupcake decorating event. The Fresh Market donated 100 percent of the money raised to No Kid Hungry, which is dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with healthy food where they live, learn and play.

Super Saturday - A Community Education Event

Super Saturday is an annual event hosted by the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Young Professionals (ULGA-YP) that seeks to enrich the civic and political awareness of the Metro-Atlanta community. This signature event is an integral part of the ULGA-YP mission to facilitate civic empowerment and political engagement. 

This year’s Super Saturday event will provide community members the opportunity to be educated on Georgia politics, discuss why civicengagement matters and engage in a hackathon on community and police relations. Spread the word and come out to participate in this interactive experience. 

To volunteer for Super Saturday, please contact political@ulga-yp.org.

Healthy Munchy Lunchbox Friendly Fruit Crispies

“Snack time” at school was designed to feed young bodies and brains.  But too often, it’s just code for candy, chips and other snacks that are full of sugar, salt, and fats.  Enter an all-natural, technological innovation in the kids’ snack category:  Healthy Munchy Fruit Crispies. 

This is a truly nutritious treat with the sweetness, and satisfying crunch that kids crave in snacks. Each individual bag features some of kids’ favorite licensed Nickelodeon characters like Spongebob Squarepants or Dora the Explorer, so it’s as fun on the outside as it is flavorful and healthy on the inside.  No salt, no added sugar, just pure delicious fruit.

For more information, visit www.healthymunchy.com.

Zombie Hunting Season at SAS Black Ops Indoor Arena in Marietta during Halloween

Over the weekend, I took the boys and some of their friends to SAS Black Ops Indoor Arena, located at 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta, GA 30066. What happens at SAS Black Ops? Zombie Hunting, of course during Halloween! 

Every Saturday night - 9/26 thru Halloween from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. you and your kids can have the thrill of chasing Zombies in a fun game of laser tag. 

Right before entering the arena, you'll grab your gear (a featherweight laser tag pro battle rifle and head gear), attend your briefing, and head out to the indoor arena to take down the Zombies! 

My boys and their friends had a blast hunting "The Walking Dead". Book your 15-minute session today, and set out on a survival mission. 

Call to reserve space at (678) 659-9319. For more information, visit www.sasblackops.com.