Drowning... Roughly a million children die from drowning each year (surveyed by the World Health Organization) and drowning kills nine people per day in the U.S.
Diversity... African-American children drown at a rate that is 3.2 times higher than that of Causasian children.
Fitness... 1 in 3 children in American is overweight, putting them at risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and emotional pain.
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- Florida leads the nation in the drowning of children under age 5.
- For each childhood drowning death there are four children hospitalized for near drowning incidents.
- In 2006, 486 Florida residents drowned and another 313 were hospitalized for non-fatal drownings.
- The cost of a single near drowning resulting in brain damage can be more than $5.5 million.
- The total annual national cost of drowning among children under age 5 is approximately $3.5 billion.
*data source: Office of Vital Statistics, Florida Department of Health 2/4/2008
The Gift of Swimming is the solution to this tragic problem by teaching the vulnerable child to swim-float-swim. Children as young as six months old can be taught to roll onto
their back to float and breathe until help arrives. Children as young as ten to eleven months old can be taught to swim, roll to their back to breathe and rest, then flip back over to swim to safety.
The Gift of Swimming offers full scholarships to underprivileged children to learn these essential skills. In addition to acquiring valuable survival skills, these children gain self-esteem and
self-discipline which will change their lives forever. A certified PediaSwim Instructor can teach a child to save themselves in ten to twenty-five lessons, depending on many factors, including age,
previous experience, etc. Every child needs to learn to swim. Every child deserves to learn to swim. Every child deserves to live.
All expenses are paid by SouthWest Aquatics, 100% of funds received directly benefit the underprivileged children in our community.
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Aquatic Levels of Safety
- Adult supervision. Always watch children in and around water.
- Install a safety fence around pools and ponds.
- Keep a cell phone or cordless phone pool side for emergency use.
- Learn CPR.
- Enroll children in swimming lessons that teach survival skills.
If all other layers of protection are breached, only survival skills will save a child’s life.
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- The Gift of Swimming, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation.
- The scholarships provide private, one on one swimming lessons.
- Swimming lessons save lives and build healthy minds and bodies.
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