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Funding
History to Date
Since
its inception, The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund
has granted funds to the following
organisations:
•
Canadian
Coast Guard Auxiliary (Central &
Arctic)
• Canadian
Coast Guard, Office of Boating
Safety
• Canadian
Hydrographic
Conference
• Canadian
Safe Boating
Council
• Dalhousie
University
• Golden
& District Search and Rescue
Society,
Yellowhead Search
and Rescue, Kimberley Search and
Rescue, Bluewater
Search and Rescue
• Knowledge
Network
• Lifesaving
Society
• Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority and the
Upper Thames
River
Conservation
Authority
• Ontario
Federation of Snowmobile
Clubs
• Ontario
Provincial Police
• Ottawa-Carleton
Police
• Royal
Canadian Mounted
Police
• Saskatchewan
Council for Water
Safety
• Search
and Rescue Dog Association of
Alberta
• Shaolin
Monks Dragon Boat
Team
• Toronto
Police Services
• Water
Incident Research Alliance
Cook-Rees
has also undertaken the following
initiatives:
• Publication of a Reader's
Digest safe boating insert (2001)
• Development and dissemination of a
public service announcement about new
boating regulations (2000)
• Collation and distribution of water
safety teaching aids and information to
children and adults at the Stratford
Lions' Pool annual Canada Day Free
Swim (2000-2004)
Cook-Rees
has sponsored Water and Boating Safety
Events such as the:
• Canadian Safe Boating Council
Symposium (2002, 2003, 2004)
• Canadian Safe Boating Awards (2003,
2004)
• Launch of Safe Boating Week
(2003)
• Stratford Ontario Dragon Boat
Festival (2001)
Cook-Rees
has sent representatives to attend and
make presentations at international
conferences:
• The First World Congress on
Drowning (Amsterdam, 2002)
• The International Boating and Water
Safety Summit (Nashville 2001,.Daytona
2002, Las Vegas 2003, Newport Beach
2005)
• The National Transportation Safety
Board (US) Forum on PersonalFlotation
Devices in Recreational Boating
(Washington 2004)
The
Cook-Rees Memorial Fund has granted funds
to the following organisations:
•
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Central
& Arctic)
In 2004, the Canadian Coast Guard
Auxiliary (Central & Arctic) was
provided with funds to purchase night
vision equipment for units that respond to
calls from the Arctic through to the Great
Lakes. This equipment allows these units,
which are largely made up of volunteers,
to operate with greater efficiency and
safety while conducting search and rescue
operations after dark.
•
Canadian Coast Guard, Office of Boating
Safety
In 2004, the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund
donated 70 canoes to assist in launching a
new boating safety program in Newfoundland
and Labrador. The Office of Boating
Safety, a department of the Canadian Coast
Guard, in partnership with the Department
of Education, Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador, has designed this program
that will teach boating safety to 7,000
Grade 9 students per year.
•
Canadian Hydrographic Conference
(CHC)
The Fund was a proud sponsor of the
CHC in 2002. This conference is an
important forum for the marine community
and is a focus for navigators, inshore and
offshore fishers, recreational boaters,
engineers, scientists and educators, as
well as for government and industry
representatives.
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•
Canadian Safe Boating Council
In 2002 The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund
sponsored "Will It Float?", a
groundbreaking report prepared for the
Canadian Safe Boating Council by
SMARTRISK, which investigated issues
surrounding mandatory use of personal
flotation devices.
•
Dalhousie University
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund sponsored
the 2003 Maritime Risk and Safety
Conference hosted by Dalhousie University
in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This conference
brought together leading researchers and
practitioners in the area of maritime risk
management and analysis.
•
Golden & District Search and Rescue
Society, Yellowhead Search and Rescue,
Kimberley Search and Rescue, Bluewater
Search and Rescue
Between 2001 and 2004, donations by
The Cook-Rees Fund purchased much-needed
equipment and provided training for search
and rescue associations across Canada.
These associations are largely composed of
volunteers, and the Fund's support has
helped them to act more swiftly, safely
and confidently to save lives.
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•
Knowledge Network
In 2004, the Fund partnered with the
Knowledge Network (British Columbia's
public educational broadcaster, which is
also shown on satellite television across
the country) to deliver six half-hour
television programs on boating safety. The
programs' subject matter will fulfil
specific learning objectives connected
with recent boating legislation, and will
encourage viewers to obtain safe boating
certification. The Government of Canada's
Office of Boating Safety has offered its
expertise to Knowledge Network staff as
the shows are developed for airing in the
spring of 2005.
•
Lifesaving Society
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund has
partnered with the Lifesaving Society and
several applicants to bring projects to
fruition. A Dragon Boat Safety Handbook
was developed, and a Training and
Certification Day for dragon boat
officials and competitors was sponsored in
Toronto in September of 2001.
Cook-Rees
has also granted funds to the Lifesaving
Society to produce an informative insert
on drowning fatalities distributed in the
magazine SARScene, and at the
National Search and Rescue Secretariat's
2002 annual conference.
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•
Maitland Valley Conservation Authority
and the Upper Thames River Conservation
Authority (UTRCA)
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund has
assisted two Conservation Authorities in
southwestern Ontario in their efforts to
teach young children about river safety
since 1998. Community education staff at
the UTRCA developed the River Safety
Program, and The Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority and the Ausable
Bayfield Conservation Authority have also
delivered this river safety program in
their respective watersheds and adapted
the activities to suit their needs.
The
River Safety Program is a one-hour
in-class "stream proofing", consisting of
hands-on activities designed for Grade 2
students. The main objective is to help
children in watershed areas develop an
understanding of river systems, an
awareness of the hazards associated with
waterways, and the ability to make
appropriate safety decisions. With the
help of The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund, the
River Safety Program has been presented to
over 20,000 students in southwestern
Ontario.
•
Ontario Federation of Snowmobile
Clubs
In February of 2003, The Cook-Rees
Memorial Fund sponsored a lecture and
demonstrations on ice rescue and
cold-water immersion for the OFSC. Guest
speaker was Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a world
expert on hypothermia.
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•
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)
One of the first pieces of equipment
donated with Cook-Rees funds was a side
scan sonar presented to the Ontario
Provincial Police in 1999. In all, three
such units have been donated to search and
recovery teams in the province of Ontario.
The OPP were also granted funds to obtain
a ROV, an underwater remote operated
vehicle, which is used in recovery
operations.
•
Ottawa-Carleton Police
In 2001 the Ottawa Carleton Police
department was provided with new air tanks
for their search and recovery teams. They
were also given a Boat Buoy Kit, which is
the Lifesaving Society's training kit for
boating safety.
•
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP)
The RCMP has several Underwater
Recovery Teams across Canada. In 2003, The
Cook-Rees Memorial Fund provided the
resources needed to purchase 20 dry suits
with mated collars specifically designed
for the purpose of minimizing the risks
associated with diving in contaminated
environments.
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Saskatchewan Council for Water
Safety
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund worked
with the Canadian Red Cross to support the
Saskatchewan Council for Water Safety in
2002 in the production of the Saskatchewan
Water Safety Guide, which contained
information on boating safety, new safe
boating regulations, water rescue, and
valuable information on water safety.
Seventy thousand copies of the guide were
published and inserted in the province's
two largest daily newspapers, and were
made available to water enthusiasts in
Saskatchewan's provincial
parks.
•
Search and Rescue Dog Association of
Alberta (SARDAA)
Cook-Rees sponsored the Search and
Rescue Dog Association of Alberta's K9
conference in 2001. SARDAA, whose members
are volunteers, offers self-sufficient
volunteer services in areas such as
urban/wilderness search, missing persons
retrieval, water search, and
disaster-search applications. They have
established the use of search and rescue
dogs in Alberta, and continue to train
teams based on instruction from local and
international experts.
•
Shaolin Monks Dragon Boat Team
In 2002, the Fund sponsored the
purchase of Personal Floatation Devices
(PFDs) to be worn by team members of the
Toronto-based Shaolin Monks Dragon Boat
Team to promote the mandatory wear of PFDs
during all practices and
competitions.
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Toronto Police Services
In 2001, the Fund sponsored a seminar,
Investigating the Water-Related
Death. The event was hosted by the
Toronto Police Service's Underwater Search
and Recovery Team in conjunction with the
Office of the Chief Coroner for the
Province of Ontario and the Toronto Police
Service's Forensic Identification
Services.
•
Water Incident Research Alliance
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund has been
an enthusiastic supporter of the Water
Incident Research Alliance (WIRA) since
its inception in 2000. Contributions from
The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund helped WIRA
form its business plan, assisted the
Alliance as it worked to establish itself,
and aided in the design of its web site.
In 2005 The Fund will be providing
assistance for WIRA's operation as it
works to reach its strategic goals for
continued development and
sustainability.
WIRA
is a non-profit alliance of members
dedicated to delivering research data
regarding water-related incidents,
injuries and fatalities. The data provided
by WIRA enables member agencies to analyze
and interpret these occurrences and
develop a course of action.
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