The Cook County YMCA was chosen as one of 151 Make a Splash Local Partner programs in the U.S. to receive grant funding from the USA Swimming Foundation in 2018. The awarded money will go toward the Y’s continued efforts to provide free or reduced cost swim lessons to underserved communities around the country.
The USA Swimming Foundation awarded a total of $702,819 to programs across the country that will help provide swim lessons to an estimated 27,239 children, the most distributed since Make a Splash’s inception in 2007.
“We are thrilled to be chosen for this grant,” executive director Emily Marshall said. “The money we received will be put toward our yearend goal of graduating 50 new kids from our school-age learn to swim program. Our focus will be on providing swim lessons to all elementary students at Oshki Ogimaag Community School and Birch Grove Community School. This will be the first year that all elementary students in our county will receive swim lessons.”
More than 850 Make a Splash local partners in all 50 states promote water safety education in their communities and provide scholarships and transportation for children to participate in their swim lesson programs.
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