With Free Nile Swim Club Lessons, 600 Kids Can Now Keep Their Head Above Water
At the Nile Swim Club in Yeadon, 120 children were taught how to swim over the last 10 days, says Anthony Patterson, Club board president.
The kids are enrolled in a club program, “No Child Will Drown in Our Town,” writes TaRhonda Thomas for 6abc.com.
The free program is now four years old, started because so many kids in the community couldn’t swim.
It’s a problem particularly for children of color. CDC estimates black children ages 5-19 die at a rate 5.5 times higher than white children.
“Swimming in our community is very challenging, to say the least,” said Patterson. “Every now and then, you have a child who thinks they can swim. They jump in 11 feet of water and then quickly realize that they’re not able to swim.”
The nonprofit swim club has taught more than 600 children since the 10-day program began.
Nile Swim Club board members feel the program is what the pool’s founders would have wanted.
“This pool is for everyone,” said Patterson. “It’s not Black or white, wealthy or not wealthy. It’s about our community and making sure our children know how to swim.”
Read more at 6abc.com about this free swim class at the Nile Swim Club.
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