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FORT MILL, S.C. — Hitting the lake for Memorial Day weekend can be fun as long as you play it safe, and that includes the importance of wearing a life jacket -- especially for young children.

Parents Courtney and Adam Smith of Fort Mill reflected on the importance of life jackets one year after their 3-year-old daughter Asher tragically died last May in a lake drowning accident in Abbeville County, South Carolina.

“She heard splashing and laughing and wanted to be with them and she tried to jump from the dock to the boat and missed and fell into the water," mom Courtney Smith said.

RELATED: Carolina officials share water safety tips

Experts say it can take less than 60 seconds for young children to drown. Many times that drowning can be silent with no splashing or yelling involved.

“Very shocking, very sudden, extremely tragic," Smith said. “It can happen to anyone.”

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Now, the Smith family is turning their tragedy into a chance to raise awareness about how wearing a life jacket can be the difference between life and death.

“Asher always wore a life jacket and in a lot of cases she had a life jacket and had a float and wore goggles and all the other swim accessories," Smith said. "We took it off because we thought we were done swimming.”

Within a week more than $2,000 were collected through GoFundMe to buy life jackets for families that need them.

On Sunday, May 29 -- the anniversary of Asher's death -- her family plans to distribute the newly purchased life jackets at the daycare where Asher attended.

Contact Briana Harper at  bharper@wcnc.com  and follow her on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .

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