How were the communities selected to partner with the Canadian Red Cross Society?
As mentioned, community members were first made aware of the program through the water safety presentation given by the Canadian Red Cross Society. The Red Cross relied on members from the communities themselves to express their interest. Another important matter in the selection process, involved communities themselves considering whether drowning would be seen as a priority for action or whether another injury issue would have greater priority. In addition to these key factors the Red Cross took into consideration: whether the community was considered northern or remote; whether the project would compete with local stores and suppliers; and whether the community had a history of working with the Red Cross and or had had drowning or near drowning incidents. It seemed reasonable to expect that a program partnership was more likely to succeed if the Red Cross and the community already had a working relationship to draw on and if a community had a special reason to be motivated or intere
