Some years ago I met a friend for lunch just after she had picked her daughter up from her swimming lesson. Both of them looked ashen. Her daughter was about 5 at the time and apparently had just been on the sharp end of some “deep end learning”. Literally. This teacher had thought the best way to teach a child to swim was to make it a “sink or swim” choice. She worked on the basis that most children will swim for their own survival, and if they did sink, she would scoop them out.

Brutal. And needless to say, my friend never went back there.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U. S. averages approximately 10 deaths per day as a result of drowning. More than one in five victims of drowning are younger than 14 years old. Organizations that work to prevent drowning often require funding from foundations and the government to help prevent fatal and non-fatal drowning. Grants can help bridge the gap in funding so drowning prevention programs can reach those most at risk.