“Every Child a Swimmer” Scholarship
MAY IS NATIONAL WATER SAFETY MONTH and
AquaChamps Swim School launches an expanded community outreach program with $20,000 in scholarships for
children and adults learning to swim!
May is National Water Safety month. Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children under the age of four? In the state of Florida, annually there are enough children under the age of five lost to drowning to fill three or four preschool classrooms. (Florida Department of Health). We know that drowning is preventable. That is why we are acting NOW to change the statistics on drowning! One tangible way to change these statistics is to introduce children to swimming lessons. According to the World Health Organization, research has found that participation in formal swimming lessons is associated with an 88% reduction in the risk of drowning.
Over 50 years ago it was the vision of Dr. Bill Kent, Chairman of the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), to have “Every Child a Swimmer.” His vision has turned into a movement in the swimming world to address child drowning. Dr. Kent has spearheaded the “Every Child a Swimmer” legislation, which passed the Florida House & Senate this year. Starting in the new school year for 2022, the legislation will require Florida schools to ask if a child has participated in swimming lessons as a part of their school-entry health exam. It will also require schools to provide information regarding swimming lessons if the parents report that their children have not participated in swimming lessons prior to entering Kindergarten. It is now our goal to take this legislation national. Here is the link that schools can provide parents/caregivers to find swimming lessons in their area: https://www.everychildaswimmer.org
To make “Every Child a Swimmer” a reality, we must find a way to make swimming lessons affordable & accessible to many underserved communities. AquaChamps has partnered with the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance’s (PHTA) “Step Into Swim” and the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) on a shared mission to have “Every Child a Swimmer.” The PHTA’s Step Into Swim has awarded AquaChamps a $10,000 grant to provide “Every Child a Swimmer” scholarships to swimmers in need. AquaChamps has decided to match the grant so that we can offer $20,000 in scholarships to our community! The scholarship is for swimmers of all ages, 3 months to 100+ years old, that meet the financial & physical criteria. The scholarship awards deserving swimmers and families $500 for formal swimming lessons through our swim school. AquaChamps has already been working with the FSPA-Broward Chapter to provide numerous children and adults with swimming lessons, thanks to the “Every Child a Swimmer” Scholarship.
If you are interested in making a difference in drowning statistics and protecting families from losing a loved one to a preventable death, please contribute today to the “Every Child a Swimmer” Scholarship. You can earmark your donation to go to a school or organization of your choice to provide the swimming lessons.
Click here to make a tax-deductible donation:
https://floridapoolpro.portals7.gomembers.com/About/FloridaSwimsFoundation.aspx
Make sure to name AquaChamps Swim School as your preferred scholarship provider.
If you know of a swimmer or family in need, please have them email events@aquachamps.com to start the application process. Thank you for your support as we work to stop drowning!
Related posts:
“Every Child a Swimmer” Legislation
AquaChamps Featured on CBS News Miami
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