Life Jacket Loaner Program For Kids Is A Life Saver

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With summer in full swing, it’s good to know Montana’s kids have every chance of being protected on the water.

Boaters in Montana can borrow life jackets for kids through a special, free loaner program developed by Montana’s Safe Kids Campaign, a project of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies of Montana and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

“We’re very pleased with this loaner program because it means that every child can be protected when they are on or near the water,” said Liz Lodman, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks boating coordinator. “If you forgot a lifejacket or have friends you want to take boating, lifejackets can be borrowed from over 40 sites.”

Montana law requires children under 12 to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. All boats must have a life jacket available for each person on board.

All that is required to borrow a kid’s lifejacket is a driver’s license and the commitment to return the life jacket to the same site at the end of your boating trip. Life jackets are available in three sizes to fit infants under 30 pounds, children 30-50 pounds and youngsters 50-90 pounds.

“This program works because we have loaner sites on almost all of the major waters in the state,” Lodman said. “On Flathead Lake near Kalispell there are five different locations to obtain a free loaner life jacket for a child, and other major lakes and reservoirs may also have more than one site.”

Other waters with life jacket loaner sites include: Fort Peck Reservoir near Glasgow; Lake Elmo State Park in Billings; Georgetown Lake near Anaconda; Canyon Ferry Lake near Helena; Frenchtown Pond State Park near Missoula; and numerous other sites.

For details on the free life jacket loaner program call 406-444-2615, or on the Internet go to: www.hmhb-mt.org . Click on “Safe Kids” and then on the drawing of kids in PFD’s.