AquaKids provides free water safety lessons for low income families

AquaKids provides free water safety lessons for low income families

(ROCKWALL, TX — June 16, 2016) Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children age five to fourteen, and approximately three children die every day as a result of drowning. However, swim lessons can reduce the chances of drowning by up to 88%. In 2011 a group of high school swimmers on the Rockwall swim team learned of these alarming statistics and decided to take action.

Unsettled that an activity so familiar could have such tragic results, the students set out to help serve the community by creating AquaKids, a free water safety program for low-income families. This past week, over 80 children participated in this five-day bilingual program taught by 35 high school and college volunteers. With the help of the Rockwall Aquatics Center, Lakepointe Church’s Lake Rockwall Estates Ministry, The Boys and Girls Club of Rockwall, and Helping Hands, the outreach has taught over three hundred children in the six years it has run. The program teaches basic swim skills along with water safety techniques, focusing on rules such as “Reach or throw, don’t go” and “Always listen to your lifeguard,” to encourage at-risk children to practice safe habits around the water.

Rockwall Aquatics director Neil Walker spoke to the group this week, advising children that “swimming can be fun, but it can also be dangerous.”

“We have to learn to be safe before we can have fun in the water,” Walker said.

Many participants have repeated the program annually, and have seen dramatic improvement in swimming ability. One parent shared that the transformation for her daughter was dramatic. One year ago, she was too afraid to get in the pool, but this week was able to jump in and swim back to the wall safely with confidence.

Aquakids is run entirely by high school and college volunteers who give up a week of their summer to instruct children in water safety. Most of the volunteers are current or former athletes from Rockwall ISD swim teams at RHS and RHHS. Other volunteers came from the RACE swim team and Rockwall County Special Olympics.

“It is important for our volunteers to learn that we, as young people, do not have to wait until we are older to make a difference in our community. We can serve with the gifts and resources we have now,” says co-founder Rebecca Voth.

In addition to the children who have learned water safety, the Aquakids program has trained over fifty high school students in swim instruction techniques. The program has grown significantly since its first group of five children and six volunteers in 2011, and founders Raena Eldridge and Rebecca Voth hope to see the program continue to reach more children in the future.

“It’s all about making a difference to foster a safe environment,” says Eldridge. “We want the children to have the opportunity to overcome their fears and take their first strokes toward success.”

By Rebecca Voth and Raena Eldridge.

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