Life Jacket Loaner Program Has Record Breaking Year

The Sea Tow Foundation^™, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing boating-related accidents and fatalities, announced a record-breaking year for its Life Jacket Loaner Program, with 9,990 life jackets awarded to communities around the country marking the highest number ever distributed in a single year.

The announcement comes as boaters prepare for the busy summer season, and national attention turns to water safety.

This year, the program received its highest number of applicants on record. Of those, roughly half are existing Life Jacket Loaner Program hosts, and the rest are groups looking to set up new life jacket loaner stations in other areas of the country.  The high interest in the Life Jacket Loaner Program reflects sustained engagement and a growing nationwide demand for life jacket access.

In addition to life jackets, demand for loaner station building kits continues to grow, with a record number requested despite funding that provides only 50 kits. This further demonstrates the need for expanded safety access points in communities nationwide. To help execute, the Sea Tow Foundation has developed a set of Life Jacket Loaner Station Building Plans and Designs that allow groups to build their own loaner stations

With the distribution of this year’s awards, the  Sea Tow Foundation will have provided more than 122,000 life jackets since the Life Jacket Loaner Program’s launch in 2008.

Funded through a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and administered by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Sea Tow Foundation purchased this year’s 9,990 life jackets from ThrowRaft(R) , which produces U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets in a full range of sizes – from infant to adult XL.