Join our Award Winning Splash Into Safety Program!
According to the CDC, South Carolina ranks 9th in drowning deaths in the US, with Dorchester, Berkeley & Colleton counties leading these statistics. Each spring and summer, our local emergency rooms see a rising number of children who have had a near drowning or a drowning-related accident that could have been prevented with proper water safety training.. The Summerville Family YMCA has a long-standing commitment to addressing these alarming drowning statistics in our area and beyond.
In 2023, the Summerville Family YMCA joined forces with local partners to curb these statistics. Alongside Summerville Medical Center, Colleton and Dorchester Counties, the Summerville Family YMCA took drowning prevention to the streets with a program now known as Splash into Safety. Splash into Safety utilized a mobile swimming pool, which was set-up in St. George and Walterboro, SC, neither of which have swimming pools accessible for public use. Most swim programs in our area charge between $60-75 per lesson making these life-saving programs inaccessible, both financially and geographically, for many who live in Upper Dorchester and Colleton counties.
The summer program served over 330 children between 5 and 11 years old. Two lifeguards and five swim instructors participated in the program, teaching children critical skills such as treading water, floating, recovery in case of falling into a body of water and swim-float-swim. Children were instructed to always ask permission from an adult before entering the water. While Splash into Safety focuses on life-saving skills for children, the curriculum also engages parents in learning important skills to keep their children safe. Parents are taught CPR and asked to pledge to be “Water Watchers” to help reduce water emergencies for their and other children.
Because of the success of the summer program, the Summerville Family YMCA has extended Splash into Safety into fall programming to serve additional families. We initially targeted select groups for the fall program to include our YMCA afterschool families, Berkeley First Steps whose commitment is to serve the children and families that are most difficult to reach and provide them access to the highest quality services. We also included Beyond Basic, a local nonprofit serving adults with intellectual disabilities; and families within our YMCA family who receive financial assistance for things like membership and sports programs. At this time, we have served an additional 81 children through the Fall Splash into Safety program. In the summer of 2024, Splash into Safety will return in partnership with Summerville Medical Center and Dorchester and Colleton Counties.
Here at the Summerville Family YMCA, our mission is to be a community cornerstone that puts Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, body and mind for all. We are able to continue our mission because of charitable contributions made to our Annual Campaign by individuals and businesses. Funds raised during the Annual Campaign allow us to provide critical services and programs to people in our community such as swim instruction for Splash into Safety, community health programs such as Livestrong and Diabetes Prevention and financial assistance for youth sports, summer camp and membership.
If you would like to support the Annual Campaign, please visit Summervilleymca.org/give or contact our Development Director, Ashleigh Reed at [email protected].