Testimonials:

1.  "My son Colin completed his infant swim lessons on the 13th November 2007. My biggest concern was that it was winter here and that Colin would not be doing any swimming and would he remember. Kathy assured me that the way infant swim teaches toddlers to swim they will remember. Hard to believe but never the less I trusted her.

Colin got a tricycle from Santa for Christmas. On the 28th Dec 2007, 3 days after Christmas Colin ( 23 months old) and I were riding along the dock enjoying the boat traffic. I was very conscious not to let him get too close to the edge and also not too far way from me (I was about 2 feet away) ---I was standing and talking to the neighbor as he was riding around. The next thing the wheel got caught on the wood piling on the dock and he and the bike slow motioned into the canal.

I screamed for the neighbor to help ---he was ready with the boat hook but also quite prepared to jump in ---the canal water is very dark and so we were afraid to lose sight of Colin.

As the neighbor was about to jump, he saw the little body plop to the surface and lying flat on his back with big eyes he stared up at us. My friend leaned over and helped him out by his arm .The boat hook came in handy to haul the bike out which was drifting away.

Colin was a little surprised and shocked and cried, but it seemed that it was more concern for the bike than the incident---he even resisted the spraying down of the bike and with no further discussion hopped back on the bike wet diaper and all and was ready to go.

I was in total shock but praised him for doing so well in remembering what Miss Kathy had taught him.

I am SOOO grateful to Kathy and Infant swim but also for all the reassurance from Kathy on those tough days. She assured me that all the pieces of the lessons would come together. That all the crying and performing would pay off after those 6 weeks ….well it more than paid off ……………

IT SAVED A LIFE…………… and avoided what could have been a horrible experience!!

Thank you Kathy

We love you

Debbie (Colin’s Mommy)"

2.  "My name is Franchesca B. and I am the proud mom of two ISR graduates. My son Mason, age 2, completed his ISR lessons in March and my son Austin, age 9 months, completed his lessons in May. From the moment our sons were born, my husband and I talked about how we can protect them and keep them safe.

One of our greatest fears was all the water that we are surrounded by as full-time residents of southwest Florida. Our home is on a lake. Most of our friends have pools. We have a community pool and we love to go to the beach. The list of potential water dangers is endless. We enrolled in a so called swim program at FGCU when our oldest was 7 months old. This program was useless and consisted of singing songs in the pool with our child. At that time it was our only option and we were not pleased.

When we first learned about what Kathy Cole was offering the children in our community we said, “Finally, real help has arrived!” Though the training Kathy has instilled in my sons will never replace full parental supervision it does give me and my husband some peace of mind should the unthinkable happen. My babies have been taught the skills necessary to save themselves should they ever accidentally fall into a body of water. That type of peace of mind is priceless.

What we need are more people like Kathy Cole, willing to dedicate themselves to such an amazing cause. According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children under the age of 5 in the state of Florida and up to 90% of these cases occur in residential swimming pools. It can happen in an instant and what Kathy Cole is giving her students are the tools to save themselves should they get into trouble. This training needs to be available to all young children in our community.

In closing, I would like to say that our children are surrounded by so many negative things in the world we live in today. This program is the exact opposite. It is positive, it is helpful and it is uplifting. I am proud to have been a part of this amazing program. I drove from Estero to Fort Myers five days a week for four straight months so that my babies could learn these valuable skills. My youngest will be returning to fine tune his skills this fall.

Sincerely,
Franchesca B."

3.  "July 10, 2008

Dear Kathy,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the outstanding, educational, and instructional performance you are teaching my two sons, Collin and Nathaniel, in regards to surviving in the water. You are an outstanding Infant Swimming Resource Instructor and demonstrate a high standard of excellence with each and every student.

Collin, my two year old, has greatly benefited from your instruction over the past 3 weeks and continues to make vast improvements on a daily basis. Nathaniel, 1 years old, is making tremendous strides with being able to acquire important survival skills of breath control, floating, and of course actual swimming.

I wish every child could be exposed to your ISR training. Your focus, attention, and determination to safety and education of the water is superior. Each year the state of Florida alone, has such a high number of drowning fatalities so I feel deeply honored you are helping my family , and others, in teaching infants, toddlers, and children how to swim. I commend you for helping in the fight of decreasing this horrible statistic.

Also, thank you for being so thorough each week in your explanation of what to expect for Collin and Nathaniel in regards to their lessons. I very much appreciate your warmth, patience, positive attitude, care, and concern with both of them. You have a very special talent with helping so many families in Southwest Florida.

In my opinion, you, and those like you who teach critical water survival skills to infants and children should be recognized not only on a local level for your quality of work, but on a national level as well. You are saving the lives of children every day and creating a safer world for the children and families who you help.

Respectively,

Amy B."

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