Citrus Schools and YMCA partnership shared

So proud today to share with Dr. Kent (Every Child a Swimmer- https://www.everychildaswimmer.org/) and Rowdy Gaines (Step Into Swim – https://www.stepintoswim.org/) about the Citrus County School District & Citrus County YMCA – 2nd grade Water Safety and swim introduction program. This is now a near two-decade program that every second grader in Citrus County Schools participates in.

The Florida Health Department shares that, “From 2017 to 2019 combined, Florida was ranked the highest in the U.S. for unintentional drowning death rate among children ages 1 to 4 years (6.29 per 100,000 population). Florida had the highest unintentional drowning death rate of 3.28 per 100,000 population among children 0 to 9 years of age compared to other states. Annually there are enough children under the age of 5 lost to drowning (67 in 2017, 74 in 2018 and 50 in 2019) to fill three or four preschool classrooms.” (Source: http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/prevention/drowning-prevention/index.html)

I shared about this partnership when the agreement was approved by the school board. Follow this link to read more: School Board’s agreement on Y pool will save lives – https://thomastalks.org/school-boards-agreement-on-y-pool-will-save-lives/.

Chronicle Editorial Board also shared about the agreement saying at the time, “These types of partnerships benefit everyone. YMCA expanded the size of its pool and increased its impact on the community by taking over the swimming safety program. The school district is saving over $400,000 while also utilizing the facility for swim meets and practices. County businesses will also see a benefit with the influx of visitors to the swim meets.” Read more at https://www.chronicleonline.com/opinion/editorials/school-district-ymca-accord-good-deal-for-community/article_73d7e090-5bed-5cd9-a16e-37a79081b097.html

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