JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Summer is here and that means kids are hitting the water. As they do so, LaTosha Roberts is working to prepare families through her program Colby’s Swimming Angels.
“We’re just celebrating kids and teaching them how to swim to reduce the drowning rates here in Florida,” Roberts said.
To help spread her vision, Roberts recorded a video about the day her life changed forever. It was Memorial Day weekend 2004 when her 2-year-old Colby wandered away from a play-date gathering at Grassy Pond Apartments.
“He walked out to a pool where the gate was a latched gate. He was tall enough to open it and that was the end,” Roberts said.
Roberts is fundraising for an eight-lesson course for children ages 5-12, free of charge. The fundraising and logistics are still in the works, but the hope is for Colby’s Swimming Angels to launch in August before school starts.
“Why not give them everything they need to save their own lives? One minute you have a baby. Next minute you don’t. You know, it’s that quick,” grandmother Kim Klykar said.
Northeast Florida is no stranger to child drownings. Recently, 12-year-old Dale Fuller, Jr. lost his life at a swim party for his basketball team. In addition to providing lessons, Roberts wants to be a support system to families like hers.
“I’d rather put myself to where I can uplift others and you know, talk to different people who have had this happen to them,” she said.
To help fundraise for free lessons, Roberts is selling bracelets for $3, as well as shirts with the program's name on them. To find out how you can sponsor a child or help Colby's Swimming Angels, you can send Roberts a private message on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/toshtooprettie
or check out the program on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/colbysswimmingangels/
Cox Media Group
