The USA Swimming Foundation awarded its year-end 2014 USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash grants to six local swim lesson providers. All funds directly benefit children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to swim.
Approximately 600 children in Michigan and New Jersey will receive formalized in-water instruction and safety education through this grant funding.
“With these additions, the USA Swimming Foundation is proud to have awarded more than $3.3 million in grant funding since 2007,” said USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hesse. “Providing grant funding to those in need is at the heart of our mission to save lives and build champions – in the pool and in life. Empowering our Make a Splash Local Partners with this funding extends the gift of learn-to-swim to provide a safer environment for children within their communities.”
The Foundation receives more than 120 requests each year to help fund learn-to-swim programs across the country. After careful review of how each applicant will utilize the allocation, the USA Swimming Foundation awarded 65 grants totaling $346,615 in 2014.
The 2014 USA Swimming Foundation year-end Make a Splash Grant Recipients are:
· YMCA of Gloucester County (NJ)
· Raritan Valley YMCA (NJ)
· Fanwood Scotch Plains YMCA (NJ)
· The YMCA of Newark and Vicinity (NJ)
· Boys & Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic (NJ)
· Muskegon Family YMCA (MI)
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
The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative is a national child-focused water safety campaign, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Through Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation 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 the USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner network, comprised of qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org/makeasplash.