The YMCA of Central Florida offers a robust aquatics program with lots of different levels of swim instruction for people of all ages, from water acclimation for 6-month old infants to adult swim classes, and everyone in between. Summer Solutions is proud to be a sponsor providing financial support for the swim program at the Lake Mary branch, the J. Douglas Williams YMCA.
Our contributions go to a scholarship awarded to parents with financial hardships who want to enroll their children in a swim class. In addition, these funds are applied toward free swim lessons offered every summer at this location to underprivileged kids from Sanford and the surrounding areas.
Why We Support this Program
Increasing access to swim lessons is an important issue for us. We’re avid swimmers ourselves, so we know how much fun and how rewarding an activity it is, and that if offers an array of health benefits. Plus, we believe strongly in encouraging children to get more exercise.
But it’s also a matter of safety. According to the CDC, there are an average of 10 deaths per day in the US due to non-boating-related drownings; about 1 in 5 of these are children 14 or younger, and for every kid who dies, another five are treated in an emergency room for near-drownings or submersion injuries.
Formal swim lessons (and the water safety guidance that comes with them) make children safer around the pool, lake, springs, ocean, or wherever they go to swim and enjoy themselves. In fact, they’ve been found to reduce the risk of drowning in 1 to 4 year olds by 88%, as reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
This is an issue of particular concern in certain minority communities. The USA Swimming Foundation and the University of Memphis conducted a nationwide study that found 70% of African-American children and 60% of Hispanic children in the US can’t swim.
Summer Solutions is happy to contribute to the YMCA of Central Florida’s efforts to make the joys and the life-saving skills of swim classes available to more area residents.
