July 22, 2012 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Swimming is one of the great joys of summer, but for too many kids the water can turn deadly.
Drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental deaths of children under the age of 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The danger is especially high among minority youngsters. The rate of drownings of black children ages 4 to 15 is almost three times that of their white counterparts.
The USA Swimming Foundation started its Make a Splash program in 2007 to increase the number of children who know how to swim, especially among minorities. The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming, works with 520 local organizations that provide free or discounted swimming lessons to children whose families otherwise couldn’t afford them. To date, the USA Swimming Foundation has awarded more than $2.1-million in grants to its local partners, which has helped more than 1.2 million children learn basic swimming skills.
“Learning to swim is not just another activity you take your kids to,” says Debbie Hesse, executive director of the foundation. “It’s truly something that can save their life.”
In addition to offering traditional swim lessons at its local branches, the YMCA of Greater Houston, a participant in the Make a Splash program, also teaches kids to swim at day camps and apartment complexes, most of which have pools because of the city’s steamy summers.
For some children, their first swim lesson is also their first time in the water, says Kristine Meyerson, director of aquatics at the YMCA of Greater Houston. Some of those kids take to the water right away, but others are fearful, she says.
When that happens, Ms. Meyerson tries to tailor the lessons to the children’s interests. One little boy she instructed this summer was very apprehensive about the water. When Ms. Meyerson found out that he loves cars, she brought some toy cars that he could play with in the pool: “Once we got focused a little bit less on how afraid he was of the water and more focused on these cool cars, he’s done amazingly well.”
For the last three years, Cullen Jones, a gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, has helped the Make a Splash program spread the message of water safety and the importance of learning to swim. After nearly drowning when he was 5, Mr. Jones overcame his fear of the water and went on to become the second African-American to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming. He will compete in London as a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic swim team.
Here young swimmers take a break at a Make a Splash lesson in Atlanta.
