Life Jacket Loaner Program

The Naples Children’s Hospital Safe & Healthy Children’s Coalition held a press conference on December 18, 2014 at our beach to kick off the Life Jacket Loaner Program. The program provides two racks with 20 life vests, with most being children’s sizes and some adult sizes. These are available to visitors at no charge in areas 1 and 2.

Visitors will pick their proper size and return each jacket to the racks when finished. The program was started after the drowning of a child at Sugden Regional Park in Naples. The coalition’s plan was to come up with a way to help keep children safe around water. The wooden racks of life vests were built with money raised for the project. Volunteers built the racks and other donors purchased the life vests. The vests are inspected monthly by the local Coast Guard Auxiliary.

From left to right: Mark Nicoletti, Lori Heath Thorn, Bob Steiger, and Paula DiGriolo