In the first wave of 2015 USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash grants, 50 providers nationwide earned funding to provide swim lessons and water safety education for children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to swim.
The Foundation distributed more than $300,000 to local Make a Splash Local Partners, covering 23 states, with 15 programs (30 percent) earning USA Swimming Foundation funds for the first time. More than 150 applications were received, addressing specific guidelines to grow programs and serve lessons to more children.
“The USA Swimming Foundation is proud that this year’s early round of funding will provide swimming instruction for more than 12,300 children in local communities,” said USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hesse. “Providing these grants makes it possible for the USA Swimming Foundation to live up to its mission of saving lives and building champions, as formalized swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent.”
One of the most impactful partners to utilize USA Swimming Foundation funding is the Harris County Aquatic Program. Involved with Make a Splash since 2008, the Houston-based provider increased its free or reduced cost swim lessons by 250 percent.
“Through the generosity of the USA Swimming Foundation, we’ve expanded our hours of operation and added sites, which gives us the chance to positively impact more children who need our services,” said Harris County Aquatics Club Director John Beaudion. “Children from neighborhoods where swimming wasn’t a consideration were able to enjoy group classes and learn a critical live-saving skill.”
Since 2007, the USA Swimming Foundation has awarded more than $3.5 million in grant funding, including nearly $350,000 to 65 providers in 2014. A second round of funding will take place in Fall 2015. More than three million children have received scholarships for swim lessons in the seven years of the initiative.
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Swimming News is courtesy of the USA Swimming Foundation.
