Water Safety: Spreading Knowledge That Saves Lives
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Kate Casciato. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
It is often assumed that everyone knows how to swim at a certain age, but that’s not always the case. Geographic location, historical segregation laws, financial barriers, and other factors can all play a part in why a child might not be safe in the water. Seventeen-year-old Kate Casciato is dedicating her life to changing that, starting with childhood education, where feet are firmly on dry land.
When Kate was a toddler, a close family member nearly drowned in a riptide, and it shaped how her parents raised their kids. They enrolled her and her four brothers in swimming lessons from a very early age and strictly enforced safety rules. While they can all swim well, Kate has become a competitive swimmer. In fact, she loves anything to do with water, which is why it saddens her to see so many accidents happen to young children who haven’t been taught to safely interact with it.
In 2022, Kate decided to take things into her own hands. She founded Own Your Float to bring water safety education into preschool and elementary classrooms across New York City and spends 15 to 20 hours each week running programs with 40 volunteers. Swimming lessons can be hard to access, but thanks to Kate, knowledge isn’t. The organization has also distributed nearly 3,000 pairs of goggles and swim caps with partner companies.
Own Your Float has reached over 1,200 students, and Kate has published op-eds in The Washington Times and other national outlets on the topic. As part of her advocacy, Kate has also co-chaired Turning the Tide, a friend’s initiative, organizing logistics and helping raise $140,000 for swim lessons for underserved swimmers.
What inspires you to volunteer?
My parents were always talking about water safety, and it always interested me. I used to hand out booklets outside pools as a kid. I wanted to do something about it, but I hadn’t really volunteered before this.
In Albany, Kate stands on the steps of the New York State Capitol after meeting with the Director of the Senate Education Committee to advocate for a bill that would mandate water safety education in New York schools.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Own Your Float.
I started by asking schools if I could talk about water safety. Many said no, because they didn’t want to scare the children. Eventually, after really writing countless emails and using every connection I could, I got into classrooms and assemblies, Boys and Girls Clubs, and camps. Now, I do lesson prep and, during lessons themselves, read a water safety book and use scenario-based poster boards to help kids spot danger.
That’s our main focus, but I also solicit donations to help us distribute goggles and swim caps as an avenue into talking about safety. I’ve negotiated a wholesale equipment partnership with FINIS, Inc. and Speedo. We hope goggles in their child’s hand are a reminder to parents to sign them up for a swim lesson.
The last part of what we do involves librarians. I wrote a children’s book called Captain Goggles Saves the Day! that I self-published about water safety, because the books I read didn’t represent the diverse children I see. By contacting state librarians, we were able to send free copies of my book or another one on the topic to around 270 libraries across five states. We help librarians build engagement around the books using activities I created with downloadable sheets. And we’ve launched a middle school club with students who will hopefully take over after I graduate.
I also volunteer every Sunday most of the year as a swim instructor with the Swim Strong Foundation for children from low-income circumstances. My organization focuses on education, but a child that has a swimming lesson is 88% less likely to drown, so that’s a big part of the solution, too.
You advocated for state bill S. 9480 to mandate water safety in schools. Why is that important?
The goal is to get water safety required in classrooms. Only Louisiana has implemented this so far. We should be teaching children to respect the water without being fearful of it. So, I went to Albany to meet with the Director of the State Education Committee, find out the status of the bill, and share what I’m seeing in classrooms and swim lessons.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
I grew up understanding that anyone can drown and everyone eventually encounters water, whether you’re swimming, on a boat, or in a flood. It was always in the back of my mind.
As I got older, I got invited to talk about being a competitive swimmer and noticed the children I spoke with had little understanding of water safety. I realized that was why you can’t pick up a newspaper in the summer without seeing a tragedy of a child who snuck into a neighbor’s pool or was swept away on a beach.
We have to talk to kids about water safety like we do about fire and lockdown drills. The sooner we reach them, the better. Many tragedies are preventable, but it’s not as simple as telling people to get a lesson. There are barriers, and that’s why I want to study public policy. I’m just getting started.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
It’s when a kid confirms they’ll follow the rules and a teacher decides to incorporate water safety into their curriculum. This work is so much more than one person. It’s going to take a movement.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
We owe it to each other. We’re part of this world, and no one can get by without help from other people. If you can contribute, you have an obligation to. Plus, it makes you feel good. Nothing makes me feel better than helping somebody.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
There’s no substitute for a swim lesson, but anyone involved in a child’s life can talk about water safety. Education is an easy part of the solution that we’re ignoring. You don’t need a pool. Children are already in classrooms. Why can’t we get this done?
Teen’s Nonprofit Brings Music to Kids with Disabilities
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Ryan Qi. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
When Ryan Qi’s younger brother was diagnosed with a developmental delay at 2 years old, the family faced an uncertain road. Then, one afternoon as Ryan practiced on the piano, his brother — who usually kept to himself — wandered over and joined in, tinkering with the keys and dancing alongside him. That moment of connection inspired Ryan to found Bright Beats, a youth-led nonprofit that brings free, adaptive music sessions to children with disabilities.
Today, the 17-year-old from Virginia leads a team of more than 100 volunteers who bring sing-alongs, rhythm games and instrument play to families across several states and countries such as China, Vietnam, and Uganda.
What inspired you to start Bright Beats?
About three years ago, my brother was diagnosed with a developmental delay when he was about 2 years old, and that was a really hard moment for our family. We had to start caring for him a lot, and his future was uncertain in terms of his educational goals and things like that. One day I was playing piano, and my brother, who usually just keeps to himself, came over and started playing the piano with me. He started tinkering with it and dancing, and it was really amazing to see him interacting with us in a way he hadn’t before. That’s the point where I really started to see how powerful music was for fostering that kind of connection, and that’s what prompted me to start Bright Beats: to bring music to more families who are facing a similar situation as mine was.
Ryan (left) plays the glockenspiel at a holiday event in partnership with another nonprofit organization./ Courtesy Ryan Qi
How has Bright Beats grown since you started it?
It started out really small, within our community. My first programs and sessions were at my brother’s school, which is specifically a school for special education. During their summer session, my sister and I would go to the school, go to all the classrooms, and provide music sessions for them. We have sing-alongs, rhythm games, and music games like musical chairs. We also have a lot of percussion instruments for the kids to free-play with, like bells and drums, so they can express themselves however they please. For our sing-alongs, we choose songs a lot of the kids probably already know, like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “The Wheels on the Bus.”
The sessions last about 45 minutes to an hour before we switch classrooms, and we’ve basically carried that structure over into our current sessions. I spent a lot of time at that small scale really designing the core session well, and then, about a year and a half later, I started to expand Bright Beats to other locations in our community. We established a library session that happens about monthly at our local library, so more kids and families can join. They don’t have to be part of a school; they can just come to the library and experience the music sessions. We also expanded to virtual sessions for families who don’t live in Virginia or near where I live, so we can connect with families one-on-one or in small groups over Zoom and provide adaptive Bright Beats sessions. And we established some new partnerships, like with an organization called The African Child, which is located in Uganda. We send them pre-recorded sessions to help the kids they engage with, who also have disabilities.
What’s been the most rewarding part of this work?
I think my favorite part of Bright Beats is sharing the music with the children. It really makes me happy to see them learn and have fun in a safe community where they can interact with their peers.
Is there a specific moment or memory that sticks out to you?
At one of our library sessions, there was a kid who at first was really nervous and shy, and didn’t really want to play with the volunteers or the instruments or talk to the other kids. But as the session went on and we sang some familiar songs, that child soon felt more comfortable and welcome, and by the end of the session, the child was playing with the instruments and having a lot of fun. I think that really shows that Bright Beats sessions can help kids feel welcome and comfortable.
What have you learned from running your own nonprofit?
I think the most important thing about running a nonprofit is having a core purpose. I know a lot of youth nowadays create nonprofits just to get into college, but I think making a nonprofit is really about helping people in your community. It’s important to understand what your purpose is in creating a nonprofit, because that itself will really guide the founder and the leaders to figure out how they’re actually going to help their community. That’ll help them design their events, their branding, and whatever else they need.
What are your long-term plans for Bright Beats?
As for the chapter in Virginia, when I graduate from high school — and we’re actually already facing this in some of our other chapters, where leaders are graduating and going to college next year — we have a big leadership team, so Vice Presidents and Directors will move up and fill in the roles the President or Vice Presidents have left behind. That’ll really help the chapter stay sustainable. As for the graduating leaders and volunteers, they join an alumni network, or a mentor network, that continues to guide the leaders who are actively involved in the chapter. So we can kind of keep all the chapters sustainable. And graduates can also take Bright Beats to where their college is and start new initiatives there.
Why do you think it’s important for people to get involved with causes they care about?
I think it’s important because it really allows you to pay it forward in your community, and for all the skills you gain along the way, you’ll have a way to show the world what you really care about and make a better impact on the world.
What do you hope people take away from your story?
I hope people can take away that there’s always help out there. Even though there’s a lot of stress and anxiety in the world, there are always people who are volunteering and willing to help you, no matter how bad your situation is.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Laura Gibbons. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
With as much volunteering 50-year-old Laura Gibbons does, people may be surprised to learn that she’s also a full-time recruiter for CompHealth. This married mother of two was adopted from South Korea when she was just 1 ½ years old and grew up in a family of 11 before eventually moving to Utah. She points to a culture of helping others and kind adult figures in her life as motivators for her hundreds of hours of volunteering – and that’s just since she started keeping track in 2025 – particularly with kids.
Her own kids have picked up the culture that has been so important to Laura, and both are active volunteers. Once, at the request of her daughter, Laura and her family stopped to assist at an animal shelter while vacationing in Thailand.
If the goal was to raise the next generation of kind humans, Laura has undoubtedly succeeded. Not only has she inspired those she has helped but those she has volunteered with. Even today, younger siblings of her kids’ friends ask to join in her work.
What inspires you to volunteer?
My parents instilled the idea of helping others from a young age. We’d volunteer in our community every year starting when I was around 9 years old. People have also always helped me throughout my life, so I continued to do it when I came to Utah. I love it.
We’re given so much, and there are many people who have less than we do. I try to teach my children that. It’s important. That’s probably why I volunteer with kids a lot.
Tell us about your volunteer roles and what inspired you to get started with each initiative.
I was never in Girl Scouts, but I knew it was a great program. There were some really hard times in my life growing up. I had really good youth leaders in my life who made a huge impact on me, and I felt like I should be the same for others. I wanted to teach my daughter that. So, I decided to be the troop leader when she was in second grade.
22 girls joined my troop, and every year, along with building outdoor skills and confidence, we’d volunteer. We’d clean up beaches, help at shelters, donate food, etc. They’re all adults now, but they stay in touch, and many have gone on to create their own initiatives.
I also volunteer at Roots Charter High School with underserved students that also has a farm where students work during the week. They have classes on topics like cooking and finances, so that when they graduate, they’re more prepared to be self-sufficient adults. They also grow and sell plants.
Six years ago, I went to a Thanksgiving lunch my friend was catering and decided to volunteer. I started bringing my kids and their friends to help in fourth or fifth grade, and I’ve become one of their main volunteers.
I organize an annual Easter egg hunt when all the animal babies are born. Girl Scout troops started asking if I’d do a farm day to educate kids, so I’ve been doing that as well as introducing prospective families to the school. I also organize youth service and secure funding.
As a Project Hope for Kids board member, I help put on events–like bowling or a trip to a pumpkin patch–for refugee and immigrant students to let them know they’re not alone. And we work with other local refugee programs to address basic needs.
It can be scary when you don’t speak English and you’re adjusting to something new, especially if your family doesn’t have money and support. My daughter’s two best friends in high school were refugees. One was the first to graduate from high school, got a full-ride scholarship to the University of Utah, and is now applying to law school. When she and my daughter played basketball together, I’d bring her dinner along with my daughter’s, because there were days she hadn’t eaten. I think about others like her who can get the support they need with this organization.
I’ve been the President of the Football Booster Club for the past two years at Judge Memorial Catholic High School. More than 70% of students there are on some form of scholarship. We raise funds to help people participate in sports who can’t afford it. We also offer student-athletes free tutoring and a food pantry for those facing food insecurity.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
Some of these kids have been around since grade school, and it’s been so rewarding to see how my volunteering has impacted them and to see that they’re thriving as adults.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
At Roots’ first annual fundraiser, a farm-to-table meal using everything the students grew and raised, students spoke about the school. I didn’t know how much this school impacted their self-esteem. This isn’t just a high school; it’s a safe haven.
I’ve also learned balance. You have to pick and choose what you want to be passionate about. I used to volunteer for everything, and I’d spread myself too thin.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Adults have the power, whether they’re a teacher or a coach, to set the tone for children’s self-esteem and who they can be. You never know what a child’s going through. And you can teach more than just your kids how to volunteer. Just be an example of being good to others.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Cameron Murray. Read his story, andnominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Cameron Murray was in first grade when a dual-immersion teacher rolled small robots into the classroom and taught the students to code. That spark never faded. Entering high school, Cameron turned it into CodAmigos, a nonprofit delivering free, bilingual computer science education to elementary and middle school students in underserved communities — many of whom have never had a computer of their own.
The approach is hands-on and joyful. Using grant-funded robots and donated laptops, students write simple block code and instantly watch their commands come to life as a robot spins or flashes a light. Since the first session in 2024, Cameron and a growing team of recruited high school instructors have reached over 100 students, running weekly sessions through the Torrance Unified School District.
• Cameron Murray founded CodAmigos to bring free, bilingual computer science education to elementary and middle schoolers.
What Cameron watches for is the moment confidence takes hold, like the once-reluctant student who quietly started following lessons on her own and became one of the most engaged coders in the room. To keep the program growing, Cameron built training protocols and a manual so other students can launch programs of their own. “I’ve learned that students work at different levels, and it’s important to meet students where they are,” Cameron says.
