Native nonprofit breaking boundaries to swim classes for low-income households

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Drowning is likely one of the main causes of demise for youngsters between the ages of 1 and 4, in keeping with the American Red Cross. But not all households can afford swim classes. In Colorado Springs, one non-profit group is working to shut that hole.

For Katie Collins, a mom of two boys underneath 5 years outdated, swim classes are non-negotiable. She signed them up for classes at Pikes Peak Athletics.

“It’s an extremely important life skill. It’s life-saving. Children die drowning all the time, so I want them to learn [how to swim] as soon as possible,” stated Collins as she watched her 18 month outdated and three-year-old sons in a seated part for fogeys on the Pikes Peak Athletics Center.

Pikes Peak Athletics Training Center is a learn-to-swim program, a USA swimming membership and a masters swim staff, in keeping with proprietor Anna Heidinger. The facility has two swimming swimming pools and a gymnasium. It’s situated on Elkton Drive in Colorado Springs.

Heidinger began swimming at three years outdated, and her profession prolonged by highschool, school and even the Olympic trials. She says her ardour for the game is deeply private

“My mom almost drowned when she was a teenager. If my mom drowned, I wouldn’t be around,” stated Heidinger. “So, it was really important to me to make sure that people have access to learn how to swim.”

Pikes Peak Athletics launched in 2011 after Heidinger got down to create a top quality program for anybody who wished to learn to swim.

In 2020, this system expanded right into a donor-supported nonprofit, the Pikes Peak Athletics Foundation, to present low-income households the prospect to entry classes.

Nearly eight in 10 kids from households incomes underneath $50,000 a yr have little to no swimming capacity, in keeping with the American Red Cross.

“It’s a passion of the Pikes Peak Athletics Foundation to make sure that people learn how to swim,” stated Heidinger. “We don’t want people dying and drowning just because they didn’t have access to water or people to teach them.”

The basis’s president, Paul Yankey, says the advantages of studying the right way to swim go far past the pool.

“I go back to those swimming lessons that I had as a young boy learning how to swim and overcoming that fear,” stated Yankey. “When you can harness this fear when you’re a young person, it’s liberating. It’s actually not just teaching you how to swim. It’s teaching you how to embrace challenge. It’s teaching you resilience and helping you to then be fortified in other areas of life. I know it certainly did that for me.”

Both leaders say it’s by no means too late to be taught. The basis presents free swim classes for youngsters and adults in low-income households.

Heidinger explains that when somebody qualifies for a scholarship, they’re inspired to stay with this system till they’ve developed sufficient abilities to maneuver on to the pre-swim staff.

“All classes are intentionally kept small to ensure safety,” stated Heidinger. “Learners on scholarship swim alongside those who pay for lessons, with no separation between groups.”

To be taught extra about this system or to use for a scholarship, go to the Pikes Peak Athletics Foundation’s website.

This article was written by KOAA Consumer Reporter Kierra Sam. Have a narrative? Send an e mail to kierra.sam@koaa.com.

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