Free swim program for Elmont students

Every day, nine children die of drowning in the United States, and the drowning rate is three times higher in low-income communities. Over the past four years, the American Red Cross in Nassau County has been working to address the problem locally, and is now planning to administer a free swim program for students in the Elmont Union Free School District.

Project End Needless Drowning/Make A Splash, a program consisting of three 50-minute lessons to instill confidence and teach children how to manage themselves when they’re in the water, has been implemented by the Nassau County Red Cross in the Uniondale School District, the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club, the Freeport Recreational Center, the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center and the Hempstead High School. The Red Cross plans to bring the program to Elmont in March.

Robert Nori, director of philanthropy for the American Red Cross in Nassau County, said the Bethpage Federal Credit Union, located at 1633 Dutch Broadway in Elmont, has provided funding for Elmont’s Project END/Make A Splash. The credit union issued a grant to the Red Cross that will allow 30 children from the district to participate in the program for free, for eight weeks.

“We believe this will lead into a larger program, and allow more students to take part,” Nori said, adding that the Red Cross plans to start Project END/Make A Splash with fifth- and sixth-graders in Elmont.

Nori said instruction will be provided by Red Cross-certified instructors. He added that the program saves nearly $300 in costs per child, when instructors, pool time and equipment are accounted for.

Nori said Project END/Make A Splash began last spring, with the help of several Long Island nonprofits. The program was first implemented at the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club, and nearly 20 students, ages 6 to 8, participated. The Red Cross has recently been having discussions about bringing the program to the Roosevelt community, he added.

Donations for Project END/Make A Splash can be made online, at www.nassauredcross.org. For more information about Project END/Make A Splash in the Elmont Union Free School District, call (516) 747-3500.