26 Kids To Get Swim Lesson Scholarships At Goldfish Swim School In Owings Mills
OWINGS MILLS, MD. (WJZ) — Goldfish Swim School, which provides swim lessons for children in Owings Mills, has been awarded over $4,000 by the USA Swimming Foundation for swim lesson programs for children in the area.
The school plans to use its grant of $4,940 to give 26 two-month swimming scholarships to local children in the Northwest Baltimore area, the school said in a press release.
Zachary Healy, general manager at Goldfish Swim School in Owings Mills, said they feel honored to be recognized for the care, hard work and love they put into their lessons, as accidental drowning continues to be the leading cause of death for children under the age of five-years-old.
"Our mission at Goldfish Swim School is to ensure all kids feel safe in and around the water, and this grant allows us the opportunity to continue our efforts by providing free or reduced cost swim lessons to children in our community," Healy said.
The USA Swimming Foundation awarded $507,461 to learn-to-swim programs across the country.
The school was founded by a husband-wife duo, Chris and Jenny McCuiston to give swim lessons and water safety instruction to infants and children between four months and 12 years. Its headquarters are in Troy, Michigan, and there are 86 schools open currently.
The swim school said it has ongoing relationships with the Maryland Department of Health's Low Intensity Support Services and the Kennedy Krieger Institute to assist families with funding for children who have special needs and/or disabilities, as well as children who are Spanish speakers.
They said in the last two and a half years, the school has connected "over 50 families with more than $60,000 in grants and scholarship money,"
"Up until now, we had yet to form a partnership with an organization that can provide such tremendous scholarships. We want to make sure all families in Baltimore have access to quality swim lessons, and the USA Swimming Foundation will allow us to strengthen those ties within our community," Healy said.
They said the school is partnering with neighboring elementary schools to give one child from each grade, Kindergarten through third grade, or four scholarships per school, with two schools getting one additional scholarship to allow the inclusion of fourth graders.