Poolwerx wins award for water safety campaigns

FCA Social Award accepted by Andrew Kidd Poolwerx COO and marketing manager Rebecca Barnes

Poolwerx has won the Franchise Council of Australia’s (FCA) national Franchisor Social Responsibility Award, following the success of its annual Learn2Swim Week and April Pools Day water safety initiatives.

Poolwerx chief operating officer Andrew Kidd says the company has a strong focus on helping to kerb the incidence of child drownings.

“Through our Learn2Swim Week and April Pools Day campaigns, we have partnered with Kids Alive and Australian Red Cross to make a positive difference in the lives of our communities,” he says.

“Our Franchise Partners throughout Australia are highly committed to these campaigns and to bringing awareness about the importance of water safety. These initiatives are all about education and ultimately helping to save lives.”

Learn2Swim Week

This year’s Learn2Swim Week campaign was the most successful to date with more than 350 swim schools across Australia participating to offer free swimming lessons for kids under five.

“We know that this campaign is helping to raise awareness among parents about the importance of teaching their under-fives lifesaving water skills,” he says. “Last year, 60 per cent of parents who had participated in the program indicated their child was now enrolled in ongoing swimming lessons.”

April Pools Day

The April Pools Day safety campaign aims to improve resuscitation skills, after the franchise’s research revealed 75 per cent of people were not confident they could save a loved one’s life.

“Last year we offered free CPR demonstrations instore and this year we teamed with Australian Red Cross to offer anyone in the community a free online CPR course valued at over $100,” he says.

“The program aims to remove the perceived barriers for parents to obtain life-saving CPR skills, making it simple, fast and free to get CPR training and our partnerships with CPR training providers such as The Australian Red Cross are helping to promote their services and to direct parents to their online and practical CPR courses.”

Also at the awards, PoolWerx national franchise operations manager Steve Halls took out the FCA national Field Manager of the Year award after assisting more than 20 business owners across Queensland to achieve the highest increase in sales nationally. This is the second time Halls has won the award in the past three years.