May is International Water Safety Month! This month we will be giving back to our community by volunteering our time at Howard University’s Water Safety Day. April was truly amazing for A Diver Like Me and opportunities continue to arise. We started the month in Richmond, VA at the Richmond African American Book Festival. This was our first out of state event, and we actually met a number of authors from our area that were there. The biggest surprise we had was meeting the first Black female Division 1 dive coach! She actually walked in while Sanaa was reading her book and we hadn’t noticed her until the end. It was so nice for her to take the time to come meet us. The moment was very inspiring and we look forward to her guidance in future endeavors in the sport of diving.
During the month we were able to connect with lots of children and families to include the Black Mamas Book Club in PG County, MD, Kensington Day of the Book, and Multicultural Night at Sanaa’s Elementary School. Sanaa was the youth author at this years Baltimore Children’s Book Fair where she read her book and inspired many youth to try swimming and diving and have confidence in what you do even when there is nobody that looks like you doing it.
May has been off to a busy start, which began with reading and engaging with a Kindergarten Daisy Girl Scout Troop followed by Mess Fest where we had children make playdoh and use diver cookie cutters to make figures. We have a few more book events coming up this month and then Sanaa will embark on an opportunity she will not soon forget. We will travel to Indianapolis to the US Olympic Swimming Trials and not only bring the book along, but also volunteer with Diversity in Aquatics to teach water Safety to kids in the community. After Swim Trials we will head to US Olympic Diving Trials in Knoxville where we plan to meet with the president of USA Diving.
We are currently working on something new and can’t wait to share it with you in the coming months!
Please continue to share the word of this book with your friends and family, as well as forwarding any events or inviting us to your space for a reading.
