Last week, four Mesa children drowned in just three days bringing Maricopa County’s total to six child drownings this year. Arizona ranks second in the nation for the most child drownings. Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox is making a splash to keep the state from topping the child drowning chart. On Wednesday, Mattox presented $25,000 to Phoenix Children’s Hospital at the National Drowning Prevention Alliance Symposium.

Proceeds were raised at Mattox’s Margarita Bash Charity “Fun-raiser” last year. The funds will support Phoenix Children’s world-class programs and services, including the Hospital’s Water Watchers drowning prevention program. Water Watchers was founded by family members and friends of Weston Letter, who drowned in 1998. The hospital’s injury prevention group is best known for presenting “Water Safety Day,” an educational event for first graders, and for coordinating “Drowning Impact Awareness Month,” the purple ribbon campaign held each August to remind Arizonans to prevent drownings even at summer’s end.

“Councilman Mattox has played a key role in water safety for many years,” says Tiffaney Isaacson, water safety coordinator for Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. “We are so grateful for his support. Community leaders who are proactive about water safety truly make a difference.”

Mattox also presented a check to the United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association in support of the group’s Adopt-A-Fence program.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital is Arizona’s leader in pediatric care and is one of the 10 largest free-standing children’s hospitals in the nation. The most comprehensive array of pediatric specialists in the state practice at this one organization. The outstanding clinical expertise, as well as high patient volume, and an unwavering commitment to caring only for children, all contribute to Children’s leadership position. For information about Phoenix Children’s, visit the hospital’s Web site at www.phoenixchildrens.com.