A grant recently awarded to the YMCA of Delaware will expand their water safety skills initiatives to underserved communities.
The nearly $160,000 grant from Highmark Blue Shield expands the Y’s Water Wise program’s outreach in all three counties.
Elementary school kids eligible for free or reduced lunches can register for free swimming lessons and the organization will now teach children open water safety skills at Sussex County beaches.
The money will also buy life jackets, kickboards and bathing suits for kids who don’t own one.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report this year found that minority children are more at risk of drowning. African American kids drown in swimming pools 5.5 times more often than whites.
Y officials say the goal is to reach at least 3,500 children by next October.
