Josh the Water Otter
During the month of May, the Brunswick Rotary Club brings the Josh the Otter Water Safety program to Brunswick City Schools. The energetic classroom program promotes water safety and drowning prevention through the “Josh the Baby Otter” book. The book was as written to teach children to “stay away from water unless with an adult and to always swim with a buddy.”
 
Water touches every aspect of children’s lives. They need it to grow, they are cleaned and cooled by it and without it they cannot survive. Water to most children means fun, play and adventure- in a pool, pond, lake or simply in the road following a rain storm. Water, though, can be dangerous. A small child can drown in a few centimeters of water at the bottom of a bucket or bath.
 
The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation was formed by Parents Blake and Kathy Collingsworth to honor the memory of their two-year-old son Joshua, who died on June 4, 2008 after falling into the family pool three days earlier. They believed they had every safety precaution in place, but the reality is that a drowning can occur in mere moments. After losing Joshua, they felt compelled to help reduce the dramatic numbers of deaths by drowning that occur in our country and around the world. The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial foundation was created in July of 2008 to serve as a catalyst to strengthen water safety awareness and create an early childhood educational program.  
 
The water safety program educates kids through the use of Josh the Baby Otter, a book written by Blake. The foundation and its partners have distributed nearly 40,000 books. The program has been presented in classrooms, community centers, zoos, pools, and childcare facilities around the world.