The USA Swimming Foundation names Amphibious Achievement, a USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner, as the winner of the “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” photo contest. The Cambridge, Massachusetts based program will receive a visit from Olympic gold medalist, Cullen Jones, on Saturday, January 25. Jones will lead the high-school students in a two-hour clinic followed by a photo and autograph session.
Debbie Hesse, Executive Director USA Swimming Foundation
“Without our USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partners, we could not spread the importance of water safety and give the gift of learn-to-swim to as many people,” said Debbie Hesse, Executive Director of the USA Swimming Foundation. “This contest was a way to express our gratitude.”
Amphibious Achievement is an athletic and academic mentorship program for inner-city high school students in the greater Boston area. Founded in 2010 by undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, their self-stated goal is to “promote success in and out of the water”.
The program won the contest for USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partners after submitting a photo that told a visual story about their program. The contest ran for a week on the USA Swimming Foundation’s Facebook page with the public voting for their favorite of five finalists.
Amphibious Achievement winning photo
“We are all very excited to meet Cullen Jones and further our partnership with the USA Swimming Foundation,” said Theresa Oehmke, Program Coordinator for Amphibious Achievement.”
Amphibious Achievement will have a two-hour clinic with Cullen Jones where he will tell his story, participate in the water with the program’s swim lessons, and sign autographs and take pictures. Additionally, the Foundation will host a lunch or dinner for Oehmke as well as Co-President Alice Huang.
About the USA Swimming Foundation
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions— in the pool and in life. Whether we’re equipping our children with the life-saving skill of learn-to-swim through our Make a Splash initiative, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of swimming to kids at all levels across the country. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.
About Make a Splash
Make a Splash is the national child-focused water safety initiative of the USA Swimming Foundation, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Make a Splash partners with learn-to-swim providers and water safety advocates across the country to provide swimming lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. The USA Swimming Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs, to spread national awareness, and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To date, more than 2 million children have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through our Make a Splash Local Partner network, comprised of more than 600 qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visit www.makeasplash.org.
About Amphibious Achievement
Amphibious Achievement is an athletic and academic mentorship program for inner-city high school students in the greater Boston area. The goal of the program is to promote success in and out of the water through a combination of instruction in swimming and rowing, and college-preparatory tutoring every Sunday morning at MIT. Amphibious Achievement was founded in 2010 by MIT undergraduates and has since grown to an 80-person program, with 30 college-student mentors and 50 high school students (whom are called Achievers). The program encourages the Achievers to set and achieve challenging goals while engaging with mentors in a fun, supportive environment.
This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of the USA Swimming Foundation.