Personal Giving

Buddy has a new friend

Thank you for considering the Lifesaving Society as your charity of choice. Your gift enables us to fund programs such as our Water Smart® public education campaign, and the Swim to Survive® training program which teach Canadians to prevent (and save themselves in) water-related accidents. You can make a donation through:

  • Annual and monthly gifts
  • In memoriam and tribute gifts
  • Employee/workplace giving
  • Corporate matching gifts program
  • United Way

The Society issues tax receipts for donations of $20 or more. We accept cash, cheque or credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express). We acknowledge all donors of $25 or more in our annual report unless you advise us otherwise.

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Donor Clubs:

Friends of the Society give $25 to $99.
Bronze Club members give $100 to $299.
Merit Club members give $300 to $499.
Distinction Club members give $500 or more.

Contact us

For more information, please email Fundraising or call 416-490-8844 or fax 416-490-8766.

Our mailing address is:
Lifesaving Society
400 Consumers Road
Toronto, Ontario M2J 1P8

Projects and Activities

Water Smart® is a public education campaign with the overall mission of making Canadians "water smart." The campaign delivers personal lifesaving education messages to modify high-risk behaviours and increase Canadians' awareness of the responsibilities that individuals assume when recreating in, on or near water or ice. Your support will assist the Society to continue to provide Ontarians with Water Smart messages, such as the importance of wearing a lifejacket, the dangers of cold water and the dangers of drinking and boating.

The Lifesaving Society Swim to Survive® program provides the essential minimum skills required to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. The goal is to provide Swim to Survive education free to every child in Canada. Since its inception in 2005, almost 700,000 Ontario elementary school children have received Swim to Survive training. Your support will assist us to train thousands more.

The Hilary M. Weston Award provides lifesaving training opportunities to youth who otherwise would be financially unable to participate in the Society's lifesaving programs. The Society provides the recipients with the examination fee and the Society's required literature at no charge. The Society encourages the Affiliate, under whose auspices the award recipient takes the lifesaving training, to waive the registration fee. The Society instituted the Hilary M. Weston Award in 2001 in grateful recognition of the Lt. Governor's Patronage of the Society 1997-2002.

The David and Olive Pretty Archives is designed to attract and direct funds and artifacts for the collection, preservation and display of materials important to the historical record of the Society's lifesaving work. The fund is named in honour of Mrs. J.M. (Olive) Pretty, Secretary-Treasurer of the Ontario Branch from 1932 to 1956 and her son David Pretty. Your support will assist to preserve the Lifesaving Society's history.

Brian Jones Memorial Fund provides drowning prevention education to the residents of eastern Ontario. Established in 1993, the fund honours the memory of Brian Jones, a highly respected member of the Society who died in a tragic aquatic accident in July 1992.

Megan Holiday Memorial Fund. This award covers the full costs for qualified London-area recipients to complete their lifeguard certification. The fund was established by the London Community Foundation to honour the memory of Megan Holiday, a loving daughter, sister, and exceptional athlete who, on a swimming scholarship at the University of Southern California, died in a tragic accident in 1993 - a week shy of her 21st birthday. At the request of her parents, Dr. Ron Holiday and Mrs. Susan Holiday, the London Community Foundation Board of Directors approved two separate grants to the Lifesaving Society for this award.

Royce Crossley-Hickman Fund - National Lifeguard Award provides National Lifeguard training to qualified youth in the County of Simcoe who otherwise would be financially unable to participate. The Lifesaving Society provides the certification fee, the Alert textbook, a first aid kit, pocket mask, gloves and whistle at no charge. The Society encourages the Affiliate, under whose auspices the award recipient takes the training, to waive the registration fee. The Society established this award in 2010 in memory of an exceptional youth athlete and lifeguard from the County of Simcoe who died in 2009.