USA Swimming Foundation Awards More Than $400,000 To Make A Splash

To help swim lesson providers nationwide offer lessons to children who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them, the USA Swimming Foundation has awarded more than $400,000 through its 2016 Make a Splash grant program. Since 2007 the Foundation has given more than $4 million dollars to help fund learn-to-swim programs across the country.

Through Make a Splash funding last year, more than 23,000 children were served through grants provided to 72 Make a Splash Local Partners across 26 states. Over the last nine years, more than four million children have received formalized swim instruction through Make a Splash local partners.

“Swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent,” says Debbie Hesse, Executive Director of the USA Swimming Foundation. “We are proud to work with our Make a Splash Local Partners who support us in saving lives through drowning prevention daily and by providing opportunities for children nationwide to enroll in swim lessons.”

The USA Swimming Foundation awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process. In 2016, the Foundation awarded $403,383 to help fund learn-to-swim programs across the country. There are approximately 800 Make a Splash Local Partners who promote water safety education in their communities and provide scholarships for children to participate in their swim lesson programs.

The 2016 Year-end USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Grant Recipients are:

• Amphibious Achievement (Boston, MA)
• Santa Clara Swim Club (Santa Clara, CA)
• The KROC Center (Phoenix, AZ)
• Friends of Rockbridge Swimming, Inc. (Lexington, VA)
• Woodland Hills Aquatic Team (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Alexander Family YMCA (Raleigh, NC)
• Just For Kicks Swimming (New York, NY)
• Daviess County YMCA (Washington, IN)
• Johnston YMCA (Charlotte, NC)
• Easter Seals South Florida (Miami, FL)
• IU Natatorium (Bloomington, IN)
• America Rows and Swims Newburgh (Newburgh, NY)

Amphibious Achievement, an athletic and academic mentor program in the Boston area, is one of the programs awarded a Make a Splash Grant. Mentors and ‘achievers’ in the program cultivate life skills and character through swimming and rowing in order to expand future educational opportunities. This free program is staffed by volunteers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology undergraduate programs and continues to make a difference in the lives of Boston Public High School students. Amphibious Achievement has served 69 Boston high school students in the past calendar year, working with them over the course of 20 4.5-hour athletic and academic sessions.

For more information on Make a Splash Local Partner Grant Opportunities, visit: http://goo.gl/TX3qj8

About the USA Swimming Foundation

The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions— in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country. To learn more, visitwww.usaswimmingfoundation.org.

About the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative

The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative is a national child-focused water safety campaign, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Through Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation partners with learn-to-swim providers and water safety advocates across the country to provide swimming lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. The USA Swimming Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs, to spread national awareness, and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To date, four million children have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through the USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner network, comprised of more than 800 qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visitwww.usaswimmingfoundation.org/makeasplash.

News courtesy of USA Swimming Foundation.