Boost South Haven's Beach Safety with E.M.I.L.Y.

The South Haven L.I.F.E. (Lifeguards In Full Effect) group, in coordination with SHAPE (South Haven Ambassadors Program & Education), is raising money for an E.M.I.L.Y. (EMergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard) rescue robot to be used at one of the two primary beaches in South Haven.

South Haven L.I.F.E. is a pro-beach and water safety Facebook forum with a focus on bringing lifeguards back to the public beaches of South Haven, Michigan. Sadly, over the last several years, the South Haven shoreline has become one of the deadliest stretches of beaches on Lake Michigan with at least 12 drowning deaths off of the North and South beaches since the lifeguard program ended in 2001, with 8 of those deaths having occurred in the last 5 years. Global statistics prove lifeguards to be the most effective tool against open water drowning deaths and 40 years of South Haven's own statistics support those findings as well. With this in mind, several passionate and vocal groups of concerned citizens have been pushing to restore this gold standard in drowning death prevention in South Haven. While progress has been slow, a good number of us are feeling more positive than ever that we are moving in the right direction.

With that in mind, we are eager to work with the community to fund an exciting new lifesaving support tool - the E.M.I.L.Y. This device can be used by beachgoers in the event of an emergency but it is our intention that this will be a tool wielded by trained and certified lifeguards. Water safety experts agree that "trained eyes on the water and fast feet on the sand" are the keys to preventing drowning deaths in our Great Lakes. An E.M.I.L.Y. rescue robot is a great support tool and we are happy to partner in fundraising with other concerned citizens of South Haven (and interested visitors) to provide this new technology to our emergency teams.

EMILY Rescue Robot

*donations made to this fundraiser will be deposited with SHAPE (a not for profit organization working to educate South Haven beachgoers on how to stay safe in our Great Lakes) which will then work with South Haven L.I.F.E. administrators and the E.M.I.L.Y. team to fund/build a rescue robot for South Haven.