Kids With Special Needs Beat the Heat at the Beach

At one point Saturday’s temperatures reached 81 degrees, prompting thousands of others to flock to the beach to cool off

A group of kids with the Best Day Foundation, a volunteer group that helps kids with special needs build confidence through activities, splashed through the waves at La Jolla Shores Saturday – something they don’t get to do often.

“It takes a lot more work and you know a lot more help to get a lot of these kids out on the water and on the surfboards,” volunteer Erin Cain said. “Something that’s so simple for us is something that's really special for them…[They] built some little sand castles, these kids are having so much they're not even thinking of the heat.”

At one point Saturday’s temperatures reached 81 degrees prompting thousands of others to flock to the beach to cool off as well.

“It’s been hot, the surf has been a little bit challenging and the beach is more crowded than we're used to,” Brooks Lambert of the Best Day Foundation told NBC 7.

Lifeguards said they’ve been extra busy watching over the influx of beachgoers.

“The last couple of weeks we've been busy all summer long,” Lt. Rich Stropky with San Diego Lifeguards said.

For lifeguards bigger crowds mean more rescues, but the children weren’t complaining about the weather.

For Michael Bradstreet it was a day to feel just like every other kid.

“All I [can] say [is] awesomeness,” he said with a big smile.

Each child in the group is paired up with a volunteer who makes sure they avoid rip currents or get dehydrated.

“We're just trying to drink lots of fluids you know staying wet and staying in the shade,” Cain said.

The group was even assigned its own lifeguard who watched out for dangerous conditions.

It's not every day these kids get to play in hot weather, sand or water, serving as a reminder that if you can't beat the heat maybe you should join it.

Lifeguards said they had 22 rescues as of noon Saturday, and they expect the number to rise

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