The Government Employees Health Association (G.E.H.A.) announced on Tuesday its new partnership with the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City to provide swim lessons for 100 students.
The Learn to Swim Program is funded by a $15,000 grant from the G.E.H.A., which will cover the cost of instruction in both swimming and aquatic safety, as well as swimming equipment. By ensuring students have towels, swimsuits and other gear, G.E.H.A. corporate social responsibility manager Gene Willis said he and his team can break down barriers to participation.
“If a student has never swam before, they likely don't have a free swimsuit laying around, or any equipment that's related to that, and that can be something that keeps a student from coming back, or even starting,” Willis said.
According to the CDC, Oklahoma’s drowning death rate is one of the ten highest in the United States. Among children ages 5 to 14, drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death. Black and Hispanic individuals are less likely to know how to swim when compared to their white peers, as well.
When the G.E.H.A. hosted a similar program in Kansas City, it found that 38% of students enrolled had never been submerged in water before.
“For those students, that is not about swimming,” Willis said. “That is about a relationship and conquering a fear in itself, and part of this program is giving students one less thing to be afraid of in this world.”
The instruction in the Learn to Swim Program encompasses both swimming skills — how to move through water — and aquatic safety skills, such as how to help someone who is drowning.
The program will last for the next year. The YMCA will select students for the program based on need. Students or families interested can contact the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City directly.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
