We are excited to announce that last week 300 students in grades 3- 5  from Golden Gate Elementary School, Golden Gate Terrace and Mike Davis Elementary School started the“Whole Foods Market - Kids on the Go” program and that Whole Foods Market is the title sponsor for this year’s program.

Over 40 four and five year olds completed today the ten 30- minute lessons over a 2 week period at the new River Park Aquatic Center. Every child made significant progress on their water safety skills. 21st Century Oncology’s contributions have helped over 300 disadvantage children during the spring and other 300 are scheduled to learn water safety during the fall through our Swim Central program. Water safety lessons have been proven to decrease the risk of a child being a victim of a non- fatal or fatal drowning. The more children who learn this lifesaving skill, the more likely we can reduce the number of drowning incidents in Collier County.

New Child Abuse Law In Effect Today (HB1355). Legislation, signed by Gov. Rick Scott, requires any individual who suspects that a child has been abused by any person to report that to Florida Abuse Hotline: 1-800-962-2873

Dear Friends

What a difference a year makes. The phrase may sound cliche, but it really rings true for the Safe and Healthy Children's Coalition. A year ago we were little more than a name and a logo. Today we have a dedicated Board of Directors representing a broad swath of agencies serving Collier County children. We recently hired a full-time Executive Director. Most importantly, we have set in motion a variety of synergistic programs targeting defined issues adversely impacting Collier youth. Descriptions of these programs are detailed in this report.