New York, NY – A New York City program spearheaded by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe is aiming to put a dent in the number of young people who drown every summer by teaching them to swim.
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The program called Swim for Life has introduced 14,385 city second-graders to the water over the last 18 months. It’s available to students in 132 schools that are close to swimming pools.
Benepe tells The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/LdzQFG ) that too many New Yorkers don’t know how to swim, so when they get in trouble in the water, they drown.
The Parks Department received funding for the swim program from the Heckscher Foundation for Children.
Benepe says it costs about $100 to “drown-proof” a child.
Benepe announced this week that he is leaving the Parks Department.
Wonderful idea!
Maybe they can teach yeshiva students too?