Community Drowning Prevention Co-ordinator Helen Bowker.

RLSS UK has welcomed new recruit Helen Bowker who is the new Community Drowning Prevention Co-ordinator for the south of the UK.

She joined the team – Aaron Dhanda (East), Andrea Roberts (West) and Kenny MacDermid (North) –  last month (November) and has already made a great start getting out and about meeting volunteers in her area.

The Community Drowning Prevention Co-ordinator’s are invaluable in helping the charity to grow and achieve a year-on-year reducation in British and Irish drownings by reaching out into communities and working more closely with RLSS UK’s existing volunteer base.

Helen tells us a little bit about herself –

Whilst studying for a Bsc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science, I trained to be a lifeguard and swimming teacher. This experience built my understanding for the importance of water safety education for people of all ages.

I progressed within the leisure centre that I was based at and became an acting duty manger and sales assistant. I then went on to complete a PGCE and became a Sports Lecturer at Uxbridge College. At this point I also qualified as an RLSS UK Pool Lifeguard Trainer Assessor.

I decided to take a career break and travelling around Australia, Fiji and America for a year. On my return I carried on delivering and assessing the RLSS UK National Pool Lifeguard Qualification. I am really looking forward to getting stuck into my new role as the Community Drowning Prevention Co-ordinator for the South.

I am going to be covering; Wessex, Isle of Wight, Thames Valley, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfork, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Guernsey and Jersey areas. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me by emailing [email protected].