SAN DIEGO, California, November 2, 2020: Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego (PDFSD) officially announces a new partnership with Verizon. This collaboration and funding supports initiatives that provide underserved students in San Diego County with water-safety and swim instruction skills. The partnership is a demonstration of both organization’s collective effort to address inequities in community health services.
“Verizon recognizes the importance of providing critical, life saving swim and water safety programs for San Diego’s most vulnerable communities. Verizon is pleased to partner with the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego, as the region’s only non-profit community organization providing these services to underserved youth in the region,” said Verizon Executive Director of External and Governmental Affairs Dominique Cano-Stocco.
Applications were by invitation only and funding was prioritized to organizations that support education programs via the Verizon Foundation. As such, PDFSD stands as the only non-profit community advocate and regional funder of swim and water-safety lessons that targets underserved youths living in the high-water-activity locale of San Diego County, California. Verizon’s $4,000 funding of “Waterproofing San Diego – Summer of COVID-” further allows PDFSD’s use of ”LOCAL SCHOOLS,” ”LOCAL TOOLS (community partnerships)” and ”LOCAL POOLS” to train socially disadvantaged non-swimmers for safe pool/bay/ocean play as shelter-at-home directives are relaxed over the course of Summer/Fall 2020 and in to early 2021.
“The $4K Verizon Foundation grant supports the “Local Schools, Local Tools & Local Pools” program to train low-income non-swimmers with safe pool/bay/ocean techniques. Together, we can waterproof San Diego and ensure that our coastal community is water safe for everyone,” said Cano-Stucco.
This project will specifically fund swimming skill development and water-safety lessons for 1,000 non swimmers via digital water safety tutorial modules (pool/bay/ocean), eight in-water demonstration/skill instructions, competency assessments; and one day-at-the beach experience. It will be facilitated via a local public or YMCA/YWCA Pool that serves the school cluster/district of underserved 3rd-5th grade students. Local public school physical education instructors (who are currently in digital session with students) will provide marketing material to students and their parents for information on qualifying and registering for the lessons. Students and parents will be apprised of how to access the scholarship funding, the schedule of classes as well as expectations and liability information. Once students have been identified and confirmed, both students and parents will receive orientation material, lessons will commence, and skill assessments will be executed throughout the 4-week course period to ensure student advancement. Additionally, data collection of student skill progression, execution of program objectives, and personnel feedback will help us track the success of this project.
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Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego’s mission is to save lives by helping local school kids learn to swim, in partnership with the local cities and School Districts, by funding, coordinating, and promoting learn-to-swim programs at local pools.
Foundation Impacts for 2019 — Over $125,000 funded impacting kids throughout San Diego County. This includes: 5,121 swim lessons/visit to the beach experiences; 7,385 aquatic safety lectures; San Diego Junior Lifeguard scholarships for 60 kids.
