HAINES CITY, Fla. — This summer has been brutally hot and that’s just one of the reasons that kids are making a splash at the Lake Eva Aquatic Center in Haines City.
Even tiny tots are diving in and learning how to swim. And that’s a good thing because historically, Florida often tops the nation in child drowning deaths.
“Swim lessons are so important; starting at six months all the way up to adults,” says Aquatics Supervisor Heidi McIntee. “It’s a life-saving skill, so we need to get swim lessons out to everybody.”
With more than 500 lakes in Polk County and countless pools, the grandparents and parents sitting poolside also consider swimming skills essential.
“You don’t go half a mile without seeing water in Florida and with all the death due to drowning, it’s an absolute necessity,” says Pamela McCall, who has three grandchildren taking lessons.
Pique Taylor, whose 5-year-old daughter Brady is taking lessons agrees.
“Honestly, we want to buy a pool and make sure that she’s comfortable in the water, so that if she ever got outside for some reason, that she would be safe," Taylor said.
However, some families don’t have the money for lessons and that’s where the Morris & Leah West Foundation acts like a lifeguard and comes to the rescue.
The foundation provides scholarships so that children can get lessons at reduced rates or for free.
“Our goal is to continue to grow this foundation and we want to get as many kids as possible to learn how to swim," explains foundation founder and current Haines City councilman Morris West. “One drowning death is one too many.”
Jeczel Rivera has three girls taking lessons and says the foundation scholarships made that possible. “Just financially, it’s very important to keep the cost low. That way I can have them all sign up for swim lessons.”
Swimming lessons have a serious side--teaching an important life-saving skill, but for the kids involved, this school at the pool is just plain fun.
Just ask 10-year-old Izzy Maldonado. “I like that we have fun and the pool’s big and that we get to learn all the strokes.”