Water Safety Week: Stew Leonard family launches new swim school with mission to fund lessons for those in need
NORWALK, Conn. -- All this week, CBS2 brought you stories about water safety and ways to prevent tragedy.
This morning, a prominent family that lived through a tragedy of their own is expanding the mission they started decades ago.
Stew and Kim Leonard have spent the last 30 years not only raising their family and running the well known grocery chain Stew Leonard's, but also working to promote water safety.
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It's a mission close to their hearts after they lost their 21-month-old son Stewie in a drowning incident back in 1989.
"I found him face down in the pool on a family vacation, which I still can't believe happened. It happened so quickly," Stew Leonard Jr. said. "He somehow snuck out in the crowd and just ended up going into the pool and didn't know how to swim, didn't know how to float. So our lifetime mission has been to try to get other parents to prevent that from happening to them."
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The family founded the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation in 1990. Now they've expanded their mission by opening Stewie the Duck Swim School in Norwalk, Connecticut.
"There's so many parents with young children that are hearing the message, they're coming out and giving their children lessons, which is so important," Kim Leonard said.
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The school opened its doors last Monday, offering swim lessons to children as young as six months old. More than 600 students signed up opening week.
"We can't stress enough being able to learn how to float and or flip over and save yourself, get to a wall, get to a boat side, get to a person," General Manager Laurie Houseknecht said.
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Lessons cost $140 a month for group classes or $240 for private. The Leonards said proceeds from the school will be used to fund swim lessons for children in need.
"One thing that makes the swim school so special, being a 501c3, is that we will hopefully be able to take that money and put it to teaching more children, training lifeguards and education" Kim Leonard said.
"Our son is watching us right now, and we're so proud of this," Stew Leonard Jr. added.