There is plenty of love to go around in the White household.

Perpetually busy, Deanna and Paul White often scramble to meet the demanding needs of their growing children – all nine of them.

Each active, event-packed day is challenging and rewarding, planned and spontaneous, interspersed with occasional difficulties and frequent joys.

They would have it no other way.

For the Whites, the kid business means keeping them healthy, happy and safe. It is the family’s No. 1 priority – especially in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy that hit very close to home six years ago.

A summer drowning accident took the life of 2-year-old Paris White in the backyard swimming pool of the Whites’ Lea Hill home.

“It still feels very raw. My heart is broken,” Deanna said of the painful loss of her child. “We have this amazing family with incredible children, but Paris is a missing part.”

Paris had an infectious smile, loved to dance with daddy, paint nails with mom, sing to grandma.

She has not been forgotten.

Galvanized by her daughter’s death, Deanna took it upon herself to do something to prevent such a horrible, traumatic accident from victimizing others. A month after the tragedy, she established the Paris White Foundation, which is part of the Washington State Drowning Prevention Network (WSDPN). The goal, Deanna explains, is to help educate and inform people about how serious drownings, and near drownings can be.

“I couldn’t do nothing. I couldn’t sit back and just let what happened to my daughter happen to someone else,” Deanna insisted. “I had to do something. I don’t want this to happen to anybody else. I don’t want anybody else to have to suffer like I suffered.”

Drowning is the leading cause of death among children between the ages of 1 and 4, and the second-leading cause of death among children 1-15 years old, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In addition, for every child who drowns, four more nearly drown, the CPSC says.

Deanna’s foundation and the WSDPN are reaching out to get more families and followers onboard to practice drowning prevention. There are water safety methods and tips to follow, they point out, adding that it all comes down to using good common sense.

Not every family pool is equipped with fences or walls, but perhaps all should be, the foundation reminds the public.

The Whites permanently covered the family pool. It is now a large, shaded deck, with room for a basketball court.

Since its inception, the foundation has gone beyond a family back yard.

“I realized quickly that I could not get people to cover their pools up with a hard cover … but I could provide life jackets,” Deanna added. “In my mind, I want to put a life jacket on every possible kid I can think of.”

For the last two summers, the Whites have handed out life jackets at pools, rivers and lakes.

“Others are beginning to understand that it’s a good idea,” Paul said. “Now, everyone wants a life jacket.”

The Whites’ 17-year-old son, Skyler, is taking things one step further. With the guidance of his father, a general contractor, Skyler plans to build a sizable kiosk and hand out life jackets this summer at Issac Evans Park in Auburn as part of his Eagle Scout project.

They hope the kiosk will be open on July 14, the sixth-year anniversary of Paris’ death. The public can borrow and return life jackets at the center – all for the sake of safety.

“We talked about doing it for some time,” said Skyler, a Mountainview High School senior-to-be. “I feel like it’s honoring (Paris). It’s something she would want me to do. It’s also helping other people out, so they don’t have to go through a tragedy like we had to go through.”

According to Deanna, three other Eagle Scouts from around the state have asked the foundation for life jackets.

In fact, the foundation distributed about 250 life jackets alone last month. Statewide parks, county sheriffs departments, kids safety groups and various open-water organizations have joined the effort.

“Perhaps if we start with the public facilities, people will begin to realize how serious of an issue this is,” Deanna said. “If we can save just one life, our purpose will be fulfilled.

“Our goal is to have life jacket loaner boards, or any other life jacket loaner program at every open water or regulated facility in the state of Washington,” she explained. “This will help those people who may have forgotten a life jacket or may not own a life jacket to still have a safe and enjoyable time around the water.”

Already this summer, King County and nearby fire and rescue teams have responded to four rafters in trouble on the fast, cold and deceptively strong Green River.

All four ended up in life-threatening situations, and escaped. All four were without life jackets.

Officials have since made it mandatory for users of all major rivers in unincorporated King County to wear life jackets. The new ordinance goes into effect today.

A smart move, and one the Whites surely are nodding with approval.

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For more information on the Paris White Foundation, visit www.pariswhite.com.