Mission Statement:
The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation’s mission is to educate children and adults worldwide about water safety through the utilization of drowning prevention campaigns & early childhood water safety training. The goal of the Josh the Otter project is to educate children with a fun and simple message: “TO STAY AWAY FROM WATER UNLESS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT.”

Overview:
The Josh the Otter Water Safety & Awareness initiative is a project of the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation.
The “Josh the Baby Otter” book was created to help children comprehend and remember the important message (see above). To date the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation has already distributed several thousand copies of the book to daycares, preschools, and kindergarten classrooms across the country. “With ongoing support, we will continue our efforts to incorporate this life saving message into every educational curriculum in the United States and beyond. We believe the book; “Josh the Baby Otter” has and will continue to save countless children’s lives.”

Joshua’s Story:
June 1st, 2008- On a warm spring day in June during a family gathering at our home Joshua slipped out of sight for just a few short moments. He was quickly discovered in the backyard pool, unconscious and unresponsive. Family immediately started CPR and he was life flighted to Children’s Hospital in Omaha. After three days of lying by his side in the hospital Joshua was taken off life support and passed away shortly there after. We know Joshua would have been a great young man if given the opportunity. Therefore we decided to create the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation in his honor and from that day forward we committed to solving the problem of drowning. Joshua’s legacy will continue through the education of parents and children to keep them safe in and around water with new, innovative, safety education training programs and water awareness campaigns.

The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation book, “Josh the Baby Otter” is available for purchase on the Josh the Otter website.

To learn more about the Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation visit the their website. You can also follow Josh the Otter on Facebook.