With summer activities set to begin, water safety is top of mind for families.

Samantha Pfeffer was 8 years old when her 2-year-old sister drowned in a backyard pool during a vacation in 2015.           

Pfeffer's family channeled their pain into a proactive push to protect others by starting the Water Guardian Foundation.           

Over 500 "Water Guardian Tags" have been given to young local families.           

It's a necklace tag that a child's guardian wears to designate their responsibility when it comes to water safety.           

Samantha is now taking the issue to the Greenburgh Town Board to resurface the deadly risk she's all too familiar with. "We started the Water Guardian Foundation so this doesn't happen to other people because it affected me so deeply and I really don't want other people to go through this tragedy," says Pfeffer.

More than $400,000 has been raised by the foundation.           

The family says the money benefits local children's hospitals and advocacy groups.