Safe Kids Distributes 70 Free Life Jackets at Lake Nasworthy

SAN ANGELO, TX — Safe Kids of San Angelo spent Saturday morning at the Goodfellow Air Force Base Recreation Camp on Lake Nasworthy teaching summer safety to area families. According to Catie Wiedenhofer, director, 70 U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets were given away for free. The event also gave out free bicycle helmets.

Wiedenhofer said the event was organized to give first responders and hospital staffs a way to reach out and show families products and techniques that will save lives. “These first responders and hospital staffs usually see only the bad side of water accidents, like drownings,” Wiedenhofer said.

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Above: Catie Wiedenhofer and DPS Trooper Sgt. Justin Baker, spokesman for the DPS in the Concho Valley. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

The life jackets and bicycle helmets were paid for by the Regional Advisory Council on Trauma. The council chose Safe Kids as the vehicle to distribute them.

On hand were representatives from the San Angelo Fire Department, EMS, Texas DPS, the game warden, San Angelo Police Department’s Lake Patrol Division, and the Goodfellow AFB Fire Department. Goodfellow’s firefighters brought their smoke trailer for demonstrations (below).

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Safe Kids is well known for its car seat safety program. Every year, the organization gives out 600-700 new car seats at events throughout the region. That is not the full impact, Wiedenhofer said. Not all families who drop by a car seat safety event need a new seat. “They just need us to help them make sure the child seat is installed correctly,” she said. She said about 1,500 families per year have their car seats checked.

If you missed Saturday’s event, you can still obtain a free life jacket for your child. Wiedenhofer encourages anyone who may benefit from the free program to contact her organization through Facebook here or through their website.