Brooklyn Swims!
Coming into this summer—after two years where Covid-19 prevented thousands of children from accessing learn-to-swim programs—it was expected that NYC Parks would again offer free summer swim programs, as it has since 1938.
But it didn’t happen. A critical shortage of lifeguards meant that too many of our kids would be without safe and accessible swim instruction for a third-straight year.
In response to this dangerous prospect, Inclusive Community Wellness (ICW), a Brooklyn-based 501c3 non-profit (EIN: 81-3753696) took decisive action
From July 18 through August 19, ICW offered free swim lessons to hundreds of children ages 4-13. Brooklyn Swims! aims for drown-proofing while nurturing a love for being in the water.
While the lessons are free, the program is not. We’ve raised funds—including a donation from Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest—to hire highly qualified instructors and lifeguards. Brooklyn Swims! is providing free swim lessons two times a day for 20 days. That’s almost 700 lessons to approximately 200 children.
There have been many hours of pro bono work as well as a donation of pool time by Long Island University. To make up for funding shortfalls we’ve reached into our own pockets or tapped friends and family, because we believe EVERY CHILD deserves a chance to swim.
Many families have responded enthusiastically to our program and our list of prospective swimmers now exceeds 250. This demonstrates how critical this issue is for Brooklyn parents. Our goal is to continue this program beyond our summer initiative and offer three afterschool days a week with two swim sessions a day to provide exceptional swim instruction to 120 children a week.
We are poised to expand. However, we need a dedicated pool and funding to ensure that our learn-to-swim programs are high quality and accessible to all our city's children.