The Crossroads YMCA’s Safety Around Water Program Helps Northwest Indiana’s Kids Have the Best Summer Ever

YMCA-Yellow-GreenDuring Water Safety Month the Crossroads YMCA’s Griffith, Hammond, Southlake, and Whiting branches offer Safety Around Water, an affordable program designed to engage and educate parents about the importance of water safety skills and provide more of America’s youth access to water safety lessons. The program focuses on reaching underserved communities with a special emphasis on African American and Hispanic communities where risk of drowning among children is highest. Safety Around Water will be held May 23-26 at Hammond, Southlake, and Whiting YMCA pools; Griffith YMCA’s program will be held at Griffith High School.

According to data from the USA Swimming Foundation, 70 percent of African American and 60 percent of Hispanic children cannot swim, compared to just 40 percent of Caucasian children. While fatal drowning is a concern for all children – it’s the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages one to 14 years old – African American children ages 5 to 14 are three times more likely to drown than their white counterparts.

Through Safety Around Water, parents and caregivers will be encouraged to help their children learn fundamental water safety and swimming skills. During the eight-day course, children will learn how to respond if they find themselves in unexpected water situations -- from how to reach the water’s surface if they submerge to safely reaching a pool’s edge or exiting any body of water.

“All children deserve access to water safety resources and Safety Around Water is a great starting point to not only get kids comfortable in the water, but also develop a love of swimming,” said Laurie A. Halaska, CEO of Crossroads YMCA. “In many underserved communities, staying safe around water means keeping kids away from water, but water safety and swimming are important life skills that need fostering in all children.”

The Y introduced the concept of group swim lessons in 1909. Now, each year in 2,200 pools across the country, the Y teaches more than a million children from all backgrounds invaluable water safety and swim skills. Here in Northwest Indiana, the Crossroads Y teaches over 2,400 children water safety and swimming each year. Through Safety Around Water, the Y hopes to further bridge cultural and access gaps that can prevent some children from learning important water safety skills. Families interested in learning more about Safety Around Water and how to enroll their child in local Y swimming and water safety classes should visit http://www.crymca.org/watersafety

About the Y
The YMCA is the largest non-profit organization in the country. There are over 2,500 YMCAs just in the U.S. The YMCA is for people of all faiths, race, abilities, gender, ages and income. No one is turned away at the YMCA for inability to pay. The YMCA serves over 18.9 million men, women and children in 10,000 communities throughout the United States. YMCAs stretch beyond the U.S. too. YMCAs are at work in more than 120 countries around the world, serving more than 45 million people. At the Y we are for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. The primary purpose of the Crossroads YMCA association (Griffith, Hammond, Southlake and Whiting branches) is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. http://crymca.org/