Life saving lessons for D218 students

When Dave Benjamin discusses water safety with students, he knows too well the risks of drowning. An avid surfer, Benjamin nearly lost his life in Lake Michigan a couple of years ago.

Knocked from his surf board into the rough icy waters, Benjamin kept fighting waves that continually pushed him down. With his board snapped in half he needed to remember the techniques that save someone from drowning.

Since the incident Benjamin has devoted himself to educating students about the risks of drowning. He and GLSRP co-founder Bob Pratt visit schools and summer camps throughout the region to teach.

Statistics support their mission: More American students drown annually than from school shootings, fires and earthquakes combined – schools routinely prepare for such incidents but generally do not teach water safety.

This week he brought the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project to Richards, Shepard and Eisenhower high schools and Delta and Summit learning centers.

For District 218 the presentation remains especially poignant. Richards counselor John Kocher’s son, Matt, then a sophomore at Andrew High School, drowned in Lake Michigan.

While it’s always a good time to learn how to recognize the dangerous currents, how to recognize someone at risk of drowning, and how to rescue and resuscitate them, it’s especially opportune now: Summer approaches and Lake Michigan remains the most dangerous of the Great Lakes.

In fact, nearly twice as many people drowned last year in Lake Michigan as any other.