What Is Make a Splash?

Make a Splash is a national child-focused water safety initiative created by the USA Swimming Foundation.

It works by aligning the nation’s top learn-to-swim resources in an effort to save lives. Make a Splash educates parents through a national awareness campaign, saves lives by joining forces with grassroots learn-to-swim programs and reaches thousands of children through wide-reaching in-school materials.

Help us save lives.  Sponsor a swim lesson today.

 The program exists because:

· 9 people drown each day in the U.S.

· In ethnically-diverse communities, the youth drowning rate is more than double the national average

 · Nearly six out of 10 African American and Hispanic/Latino children are unable to swim, nearly twice as many as their Caucasian counterparts

 · The key indicator in this was not race, but family -- Children from non-swimming households are eight times more likely to be at-risk of drowning

 · While about 1/3 of white children from non-swimming families go on to learn to swim, less than 1/10 of children in non-swimming African American families do.  By teaching these children, Make a Splash is breaking the cycle and creating generations of parents-to-be who will know how to swim

* The USA Swimming Foundation commissioned a national research study as a part of its national Make a Splash anti-drowning initiative.  The survey was conducted by the University of Memphis.  1,772 children ages six to 16 years old were surveyed in six U.S. metropolitan area in 2008; Chicago, Houston, Memphis, Oakland and Philadelphia.

Click here to read the entire study

The actions are:

· Educates parents through a national awareness campaign

· Saves lives by joining forces with grassroots learn-to-swim programs

· Reaches diverse and under-represented communities by funding free or low cost learn-to-swim programs for children who otherwise could not afford them

The benefits include:

· Reduce youth drownings, especially among minorities

· Create opportunities for children of all economic and ethnic backgrounds to learn to swim by the 3rd grade

Want to learn more?

Click here for more on the Local Partner Program

Click here for videos and photos of Make a Splash in action

Click here to Sponsor a Swim Lesson

Click here to learn how to Make a Splash in School

Click here for statistics on drowning

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions