LYNN — With a $150,000 Cummings Foundation grant, the Demakes Family YMCA will offer free swimming lessons to children as part of its Swim and Water Safety Initiative.
Jessica Murray, the association aquatics director, said the goal is to begin offering the lessons in spring 2025 to prepare students for the summer, when beaches are open.
The program will be open to residents of the city between the ages of 3 and 14 and will not be restricted to YMCA members or require proof of financial need. Murray said if there are beginner adult swimmers who would like to utilize the service, the program will accommodate them as well.
“It’s a need in the community to have swim lessons be more accessible,” Murray said.
The Swim and Water Safety Initiative offers water-safety guidance to children and beginner swimmers to mitigate the risk of drowning. In the past, the initiative also received funding from the Baker-Polito administration to fund free lessons during school vacations.
Murray said the grant will allow 200 students each year to take swimming lessons free of charge. The program will run for three years.
The grant will also allow the YMCA to provide 200 CPR/first aid and lifeguard certifications to community members and YMCA staff each year for three years.
Murray said the need in Lynn for swimming lessons is “really high” and cited a recent non-fatal drowning incident during the Memorial Day weekend.
She added that because the city has a significant low-income population and many beaches, it is important to provide swimming lessons “without the price tag.”
Murray said it is expensive to run the pools and train instructors, so the funds from the grant will go a long way toward providing the services for free.
According to the World Health Organization, one of every five drowning victims in the U.S. is a child, making drowning the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 to 14.
Murray said because of the frequency of fatal drownings across the United States, especially among people of color, it is a community necessity to make swimming lessons more accessible.
“In many cases, fatal drownings are preventable with proper water safety, training, and swim instruction. We are on a mission to eliminate fatal drownings in our community,” Murray said.
To learn more about the YMCA’s aquatics programs, go to https://www.ymcametronorth.org/aquatics/.
