For several seasons, Thursday Pools has been providing water safety coloring books for their dealers at no charge — so that builders and retailers can give them to children and their parents to remind them of the important steps to take to safely enjoy their swimming pool this summer. Additionally, the coloring book comes with a kid-friendly video about water safety that can be looped on an iPad or similar in pool stores so kids are learning while parents are shopping. The video reinforces the pool and water safety messages included in the “Ten Cool Pool Rules for Kids” booklets that are free to pool professions to give away in stores or even for service professionals to leave with their clients after service visits.
The original idea for the water safety coloring book was brought to life by co-founders of the company, Bill Khamis and Ed Vondell. They wanted to create something that would be long-lasting to promote water safety beyond just the Thursday Pools dealership base. The goal was simple but meaningful: put helpful, age-appropriate water safety messaging directly into the hands of families and kids in a way that felt approachable, engaging and easy to share.
The response from Thursday Pool dealers has been overwhelmingly positive. Many of them immediately saw the value in having a free, educational resource they could share with not only customers but families in their communities. It has become one of those tools that dealers consistently ask for more of, especially for shows, events and water safety initiatives.
Thursday Pool has been surprised by some of the ways in which the coloring book has quickly gained traction outside of the Thursday Pool dealer network. “We have received requests from non-dealers, including organizations and groups focused on water safety and child education,” says Annie Brock of Thursday Pools. “Just recently we had a request from the Florida Department of Children and Families to order 2,000.” Those types of requests have continued to grow as word spreads.
“At Thursday Pools, water safety is something we take seriously, and we believe cost should never be a barrier to education — especially when it comes to drowning prevention and safe swimming,” explains Brock. “That’s why we provide the coloring book completely free of charge through ThursdayPools.com, RiverPoolsandSpas.com, and PoolSafetyToday.org.”
Thursday Pools says that they have sent coloring books to families, classrooms, homeschool groups, preschools, social service centers, and organizations across the country — all at no cost to the individual or organization. “We’ve also promoted the initiative through Inside Trak Channel 13 and partnered with community events like the Indianapolis 500 Festival for Kids and the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, where thousands of books were distributed directly to families,” says Brock.
In total, more than 25,000 water safety coloring books have been distributed, with over 5,000 shared in this past year alone. “It’s been incredibly encouraging to see how a simple idea has grown into a nationwide safety resource — and we’re proud to continue supporting any organization that wants to help keep kids safer around water,” says Brock.
