YMCA offers free water safety classes

HARDYSTON TWP. — The Sussex County YMCA and three other branches of the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges will offer free Safety Around Water classes in June with support of a $5,000 USA Swimming Foundation grant.
The Metro YMCA’s Safety Around Water was among 78 learn-to-swim programs nationwide selected to receive a Make a Splash grant from 200 applications. The Sussex County YMCA, the East Orange YMCA, the Wayne YMCA, and the West Essex YMCA will use the funding to teach basic swimming skills to children and adults who have little or no swimming experience.
“Swimming is both a life skill and a life-saving skill,” Sussex County YMCA Aquatic Director Sarah Navarro said. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 14. “We’re grateful to the USA Swimming Foundation for helping us provide lessons to individuals who otherwise would not have access to them,” Navarro said.
Sixty-four percent African-American children and 45 percent of Hispanic/Latino children do not have the basic swimming skills to keep them safe around water, according to USA Swimming Foundation research.
The Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges intends to provide instruction to up to 300 people in 2018, Navarro said. The program is made possible through: the Make a Splash grant; donors to the Y’s annual campaign; and the Y’s Signature Partners, Suburban Consulting Engineering, Inc. and Selective Insurance Group, Inc.
The YMCA works closely with other community organizations, including school districts, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, houses of worship, recreation departments, police departments, and fire and rescue squads, to get word out about the Safety Around Water program. The YMCA has been providing water safety lessons for more than 20 years.
“We are thrilled to be awarding this funding and so proud that it will be used to create a valuable swimming experience for thousands of children who may not have had the opportunity to learn how to swim,” USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hesse said.
The free Safety Around Water lessons at the Metro YMCA branches will be held June 25-29. Each lesson is taught by certified swim instructors, with a ratio of six students per instructor. Participants will do exercises in the pool to adjust to the water and learn what to do if they unexpectedly find themselves in water. They’ll learn pool rules and take part in games that encourage comfort and activity around water.
For more information about the upcoming Safety Around Water program, call the Sussex County YMCA at 973-209-9622 or sussexcountyymca.org.