LakeSafe Initiative - Every Lake, Every Life

09/03/2026

🛟 50 New Life Jackets. Three Stations. One Shared Mission.

One year after LakeSafe began, we returned to Lake Sammamish State Park for a milestone that means so much to us: placing 50 new life jackets into the park’s existing loaner stations at Tibbetts Beach, Sunset Beach, and the Boat Launch.

But this work has never been about simply putting life jackets on a rack. It’s about making sure that when a family arrives at the lake and needs one, a life jacket is there.

We’re incredibly grateful to Shawn Tobin and the Washington State Parks team for working alongside LakeSafe to make this possible.

💬 Shawn Tobin, Washington State Parks:

“Thankfully, we have many wonderful people who help us make life jackets available here. A lot of people come to the lake focused on having fun, and they may not always be thinking about whether they have all the proper equipment to keep themselves safe. Having life jackets already here is incredibly convenient and helpful for families and visitors.”

For us, seeing these life jackets at the lake is a reminder of what can happen when young people, public agencies, and community partners come together around one simple belief:

Every person who enters the water deserves the chance to come home safely.

And this is only the beginning. 🛟💙

Every Lake. Every Life.

09/02/2026

September 1 marked exactly one year since LakeSafe Initiative began. 💙🌊

On September 1, 2025, LakeSafe started with a question: What can we do before another drowning happens?

Exactly one year later, we returned to Lake Sammamish State Park with part of the answer.

Together with Washington State Parks and community partners, we placed approximately 50 new infant, youth, and adult life jackets into public loaner stations at Tibbetts Beach, Sunset Beach, and the Boat Launch.

50 life jackets. 3 locations. One mission: making Lake Sammamish safer for every family.

These life jackets are part of the first distribution from 100 life jackets secured through our Community Life Jacket Drive, made possible through community fundraising, partnerships, and so many people who stepped forward to support this work.

Seeing them hanging at the shoreline exactly one year after LakeSafe began was an incredibly full-circle moment — an idea that started with a question becoming something families can now actually reach and use.

And sometimes, the greatest outcome of prevention is the emergency that never happens.

To Washington State Parks and every partner, supporter, volunteer, donor, family, and community member who has helped move this mission forward - thank you.

One year later, this is another ripple in the LakeSafe journey. There is still so much more to do, and the work continues.

Every Lake. Every Life. 💙

08/26/2026

Another ripple in the LakeSafe journey 💙🌊
So grateful to KIRO 7 News for giving us the opportunity to share our story and more importantly, the message behind it.

LakeSafe started with one simple hope: to help families feel safer around the water. Seeing that message reach more people reminds us why we started and why we keep going.

Because if one conversation can help one family think twice, wear a life jacket, or watch the water a little more closely it matters. 💙

Know it. Wear it. Watch it.

08/19/2026

This summer, our community has lost four lives to open-water drownings in King County including two right here at Lake Sammamish. That grief is what drives everything the LakeSafe Initiative does.

We are honored to be featured in the Sammamish Independent alongside Deputy Sheriff Matthew Martin of the King County Sheriff's Office Marine Rescue Dive Unit, sharing what we know about why these tragedies keep happening and what we can do to stop them.

The root causes come down to three things: lack of swimming ability, unpredictable lake conditions, and lack of proper supervision. And the solutions, while not always simple, start with awareness:
🔵 Silent drownings happen in crowded lakes. A packed beach is not a safe beach.
🔵 Cold water shock is real - even on a hot day, lake temperatures can be dangerously frigid beneath the surface.
🔵 For children, one or two minutes unsupervised is all it takes. Eyes on the water, always.
🔵 If you can't swim, wear a life jacket. It's the simplest, most overlooked protection.

As Deputy Martin put it: "Some dangerous decisions in a pool are almost harmless. The same decisions in a lake are deadly."

The LakeSafe Initiative was founded right here in Sammamish to turn community grief into action expanding life jacket access, improving public signage, and educating families about open-water risks before tragedy strikes.

Thank you to the Sammamish Independent for helping amplify this message. And to Washington State Parks for their ongoing education around cold water shock.

Every Lake. Every Life.

👉 Read the full article:

This season has seen four drownings in King County.

08/14/2026

Some mornings you wake up and the community shows up for you. 💙🌊

The YMCA/Sammamish Community and Aquatic Center published a piece today that captures everything LakeSafe is about - where it began, why it exists, and what is possible when a community decides to show up together.

It begins where LakeSafe begins - a moment of fear near the water, a community shaken by loss, and a question that would not go away: How can we prevent this from happening again?

It traces the journey of what LakeSafe became - a prevention-first, community-driven effort to make water safety visible, accessible, and part of everyday life before emergencies happen. A partnership with Washington State Parks, public health agencies, first responders, schools, nonprofits, and families across Sammamish and the greater Eastside.

And it captures what happened on May 15 at LakeSafe Confluence 2026, when the Sammamish Community YMCA stood at the microphone and committed more than $30,000 toward free swim lessons and water safety programming for families throughout our community. That commitment is already in action this summer.
Somewhere in the middle, it lands on something we carry every single day:

"If lakes are part of our life, safety needs to be part of our life too."
Kelly Martin, YMCA/Sammamish Community and Aquatic Center. Thank you for believing in this from the very beginning. Thank you for every meeting, every event, every moment you showed up before anyone was watching. This community is safer because of you.

Read the full piece at the link below. Share it with someone who loves this lake.
🔗 https://www.seattleymca.org/blog/making-water-safety-visible-our-community

Every Lake. Every Life. 🌊

YMCA/Sammamish Community and Aquatic Center

08/05/2026

Meet Pragyan Singh the person building LakeSafe's technology layer. 💙

Pragyan is a rising senior at Nikola Tesla High School in Sammamish, Washington, contributing to the LakeSafe Initiative as part of its digital and technology work. While LakeSafe shows up at the lake every weekend with life jacket awareness, safety stations, and community education - Pragyan is building the tools that extend that mission far beyond the shoreline.

Here is what he is working on:
📋 A water-safety literacy certification exam giving communities a way to measure and track what people actually know about open-water safety, so education has accountability behind it
🎮 Browser-based education games for elementary students making water safety learning interactive, engaging, and accessible from any classroom or device, reaching kids where they already are
🚨 Early-stage technology for faster on-water distress detection and response because in a water emergency, seconds are the difference between a rescue and a tragedy

Prevention is not just about showing up at the lake. It is also about the tools we build so communities are smarter, faster, and better prepared before anyone ever reaches the water's edge.

Pragyan is proof that you do not have to wait to make a difference. LakeSafe is honored to have him on the team.

Every Lake. Every Life. 🌊💙

07/29/2026

No family should head to the lake without a life jacket. This summer, your donation helps us make sure they don't have to.

LakeSafe Initiative is launching a Community Life Jacket Fundraiser — and we need your help to make it happen.

We are at Lake Sammamish State Park every peak weekend this summer alongside Washington State Parks, Eastside Fire and Rescue, and King County Public Health. Life jackets are the single most effective tool for preventing drowning. And no family should go without one because of cost.

Here is what your donation does directly:
💛 $25 — one properly fitted life jacket for a family at the lake
💛 $50 — two families equipped who showed up without one
💛 $100 — an entire family outfitted for the full summer season
💛 Any amount — 100% goes directly to our community

In King County, more than 190 people have died in preventable drownings in the past seven years. Over half of those deaths happened in open water. A properly fitted life jacket changes that equation for every age, every skill level, every family.

This is prevention you can see. Prevention you can fund. Prevention that shows up at the lake every weekend.

Donate now - every dollar goes directly to a jacket in someone's hands this summer:
🔗 https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/support-lakesafe-initiative

Share this post with someone who loves this lake. Every share reaches another family before they reach the water.

Every Lake. Every Life. 🌊💙

07/20/2026

💙 Water Safety Education Starts Early

Last week, the LakeSafe Initiative had the privilege of visiting Gani Preschool of the Arts to share age-appropriate water safety lessons with some of our community's youngest learners.

Through interactive activities, storytelling, movement, and hands-on demonstrations, preschoolers learned simple but important safety habits they can begin practicing with their families, including:
🛟 Always wear a properly fitted life jacket.
👨‍👩‍👧 Stay close to a trusted grown-up whenever you're near water.
🌊 Water is fun—but safety always comes first.
🗣️ If someone needs help, find a trusted adult right away.

Children are naturally curious around water, which is why introducing these concepts early can help build confidence, awareness, and safe habits that last a lifetime.

We extend our sincere thanks to Kendra, Susan, the dedicated teachers, families, and the entire Gani Preschool of the Arts community for welcoming LakeSafe into your classrooms and making water safety education a priority. It was wonderful to see the students so engaged, curious, and excited to learn.

A special thank you also goes to our outstanding youth volunteers, whose leadership, enthusiasm, and compassion helped make the experience interactive and memorable. Empowering youth to teach youth is one of the most powerful ways to create lasting community impact.

Together, we can help ensure that every child has the knowledge and skills to enjoy Washington's lakes and waterways safely.

💙 Every Lake. Every Life.

If your preschool, school, daycare, camp, or community organization is interested in hosting a LakeSafe water safety education session, we'd love to connect.

07/13/2026

We're incredibly grateful to our partners at Influence The Choice for highlighting the LakeSafe Initiative and our recent opportunity to share our work on the national stage through CADCA.

What began as a local effort to prevent drowning and promote water safety in our community has grown into conversations reaching communities across the country. This recognition is a reminder that when young people are empowered to lead, local action can inspire broader change.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the LakeSafe Initiative - our volunteers, community partners, public agencies, educators, families, and every person who believes that prevention saves lives. This recognition belongs to all of you.

A special thank you to Influence the Choice and the TECH Youth Coalition for investing in youth leaders and creating opportunities for us to make a meaningful impact.

Together, we'll continue working toward a future where every family can enjoy the water safely.

💙 Every Lake. Every Life.

07/13/2026

This past Wednesday, we had the incredible opportunity to represent LakeSafe Initiative at the Sammamish Farmers Market Non-Profit Day alongside 25+ amazing local organizations. 🌊

Getting to talk with community members about open-water drowning prevention and seeing how many people care about water safety is exactly why we started LakeSafe. Every conversation we have could save a life.

Thank you to the Sammamish Chamber and the Farmers Market for including us and for creating such a wonderful space for nonprofits to connect with our community. 💙

If you want to learn more about LakeSafe or get involved, the link is: https://lakesafeinitiative.org

Every lake. Every life. 🌊