Swim For Life

One of the pressing issues facing New York City children has been the disproportionately high number of African-Americans and Latinos who have not learned to swim. The lack of a basic physical survival skill has resulted in disproportionately high drowning rates and lower self esteem among less advantaged minority children. The current system of teaching swimming to New York’s public school students faces serious challenges, primarily stemming from the fundamental lack of collaboration among public agencies and private entities.

Following on our 2010 challenge grant for a Pilot Program, Swim for Life NYC, which teaches second graders to swim during the school day, we co-hosted events for other foundations and for profit business supporters in 2011 to increase the funding base. Swim for Life NYC seeks to dramatically change the way public agencies and private organizations work together to access swim facilities and deliver swim instruction to New York’s public school children. The program establishes a common curriculum and program delivery mechanism (including a student-to-instructor ratio and a 10-day class session model); facilitates the sharing of physical resources and infrastructure among public and private entities (particularly Parks, DOE, YMCA, Asphalt Green, CUNY and State Pools; and develops a comprehensive database to monitor program participation, student outcomes and facility usage. By marshaling the resources of DOE, the YMCA, Asphalt Green and others, the Pilot program seeks to permit Parks to achieve the more aggressive goal of expanding to bring swim instruction to all 70,000 second graders. A successful Pilot will provide momentum for a fundraising campaign, soliciting both public and private funding for the Swim for Life NYC model. The Pilot is continuing to expand.

 
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