Swim lessons can save lives, build strong swimmers, and even help form new friendships!
Last year, my granddaughter Kenzie asked to come to the Y for swimming lessons. She loved the water and could swim around, but she wasn’t a strong enough swimmer to go into the deep end of the pool on her own. We had a trip to Florida coming up, and she told me that she wanted to venture into the deep end without any “swimmies.”
We scheduled lessons with Julia, a certified Y Swim Instructor at the Hale Family YMCA. Kenzie loved her sessions and listened carefully to all of Julia’s instructions. Sure enough, by the time we went to Florida a few months later, she was swimming around in the deep end like a fish! I made sure to send Julia some videos of Kenzie proudly practicing her new skills.
When the new Outdoor Aquatic Center opened at the Emilson Y branch, Kenzie easily passed her swim test and was super excited to receive her green wrist band.
One afternoon at the pool, Kenzie met a younger girl, Annabelle, who was with her father and grandfather practicing for her swim test. Annabelle was nervous and didn’t think she could do it. Kenzie spent the rest of the day swimming with her, showing her what she had done when she took the test, and encouraging her.
About a week later I received a text from Annabelle’s grandfather. He wanted to let me know that Annabelle had passed her swim test, thanks to Kenzie!
When kids learn to be safer, stronger swimmers through swim lessons, they are proud to share their skills with others, inspiring friends to become confident swimmers, too!
Most importantly, we know that swim lessons save lives. That's why our Y raises funds each year through our Annual Fund to provide financial assistance that ensures every child can have access to life-saving swim lessons and water safety instruction.
