On the first day of swim lessons at the YMCA, a little girl stood against the wall away from the other children in her kindergarten class. Afraid of the water, she watched her classmates bobbing up and down and laughing. Under the watchful but patient eye of her swim instructor, the little girl soon gathered enough nerve to dangle her feet in the water. For the first three days of instruction, she wouldn't move from the edge of the pool. But on the fourth day, without being forced, she mustered the courage to gingerly walk down the ramp and into the shallow area.
She took to it like a duck to water.
By the end of the second week of instruction, the little girl was jumping off the side of the pool. She learned how to bob, kick, and relax while lying on her back. She learned to always call for help if a fellow swimmer gets into trouble, and to never, ever swim alone.
Tammy Campbell, a teacher from Sheep Harney Elementary School, fondly remembers witnessing the remarkable courage of the little girl and the many other children that received free swimming instruction at the YMCA through a partnership with Albemarle Hospital.
"It was all about the kids," says Tammy.
The success of the Sheep Harney program and similar efforts last year encouraged the YMCA to set out to provide free swimming instruction to every kindergartener in the Elizabeth City Pasquotank School system through a new initiative called All Kids Swim. Already, the Elizabeth City Foundation has provided a generous gift of $20,000 to the effort. All Kids Swim will be the centerpiece of the 2007 We Build People campaign.
"We live so close to the river and the beach, and there is such a tremendous amount of activity on the water in our area," said Ray S. Jones, Jr., Executive Director of the Elizabeth City Foundation. "Our foundation committee felt there was an urgent need to protect the lives of children in Pasquotank County when they are in or near the water."
From January to May the program will teach approximately 500 kindergarten-age children how to swim at the Albemarle Family YMCA. The Elizabeth City/Pasquotank Public Schools will provide bus transportation to the YMCA where each kindergartener will receive eight days of basic instruction on how to save his or her life or the lives of others in a water emergency. Skills such as treading water, floating and the proper use of life jackets will be key elements of the program.
"Because no child is drown-proof, the YMCA seeks to strengthen swimming skills to provide the extra seconds needed to reach a child in a water emergency," said Matt Wood, Chairman of the Albemarle Family YMCA Board of Management. "We're determined to prevent the unthinkable from happening."
The Foundation's gift will also ensure that all families in the area have access to the YMCA, by providing funding for the YMCA's financial assistance program. Additionally, financial assistance funds provide seniors access to programs such as low-intensity water exercise, fitness programs and social activities to help them stay active and healthy.
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