Beachgoers on the barrier island may have noticed wooden frames with bright orange life preservers sprouting from the sand at public beaches over the past year or two. They’re called Rotary Rescue Stations, and it is possible one could save you or a loved one from drowning someday. Members of Sunrise Rotary Vero Beach have so far installed 64 of the colorful flotation rings with instruction plaques at public beaches in Indian River County and now plan to expand the program up and down the coastline, from the Sebastian Inlet all the way south to Fort Pierce Inlet, according to Justin Lefebure, a local business broker and Rotarian who heads up the ambitious project. He said the lifesaving devices will be placed at public beaches, and beaches at resorts and HOA communities at no cost to homeowners, HOAs or municipalities. The 100-member club sells sponsorships to pay for the materials while its members provide the labor. It has raised about $20,000 for the project so far, and Home Depot’s foundation has donated about $10,000 worth of materials, Lefebure said. Lifesaving directions are simple, but vitally important: If a beachgoer sees someone caught in a rip current or otherwise struggling in the water, they should first call 911 and then throw the rescue buoy to the victim and tell them to grab it and hold on. That should help them stay afloat long enough to catch their breath and make their way to shore. “If it saves just one life, it will be worth it to us,” said Lefebure, noting that the program motto is “throw, don’t go.” “Don’t try to take the ring out into the rip tide yourself unless you are trained in lifesaving,” he said. “We don’t want anyone playing hero. Rip currents don’t last forever, so swimmers can just hang on to the ring, wait it out and kick to shore.” The idea for the Indian River County and St. Lucie rescue stations came from an identical program in Brevard County that was inspired by a tragic event. On Oct. 22, 2007, a man approached 51-year-old tourist Fred Hunt Jr. at Cocoa Beach and told him that his wife was caught in a powerful rip current in the ocean. Hunt and another man leapt into action, swam out to the woman and succeeded in pushing her toward the safety of shallow water. Sadly, however, Hunt got caught in the same rip current and succumbed to exhaustion. A rescue team arrived but was unable to revive him. When retired lifeguard Wyatt Werneth heard that story, he was inspired to start Drown Zero, a nonprofit organization dedicated to placing rescue buoys on all Brevard County beaches. When Lefebure heard Werneth speak at a Sunrise Rotary meeting, he felt called to bring the same service to Indian River County. It took a while to secure the necessary state, county and city permits, but now the project is in full swing, he said. Besides those already installed on beaches, the club has 40 more stations built and ready to install and enough materials to build another 40. It costs $600 to sponsor a rescue station for one year. Or, if an individual, family or group wants to buy a permanent installation sponsorship, the cost is $1,200. Memorial sponsorships can be purchased to honor a loved one who has passed on. Sponsors have their business or personal names printed on 12-inch by 12-inch signs on top of their rescue station. Anyone who wants to sponsor a lifesaving station can use their smart phone to read the QR code on one of the rescue stations, or visit the Sunrise Rotary Vero Beach website at sunriserotaryverobeach.org.