Step Into Swim and Every Child A Swimmer Combine Forces To Prevent Childhood Drowning

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance is pleased to announce that its philanthropic initiative Step Into Swim has combined forces with the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Every Child A Swimmer program to prevent childhood drowning.

The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) will use its broadcast and media platforms to encourage donations for Every Child A Swimmer (ECAS). The Pool and Hot Tub Foundation (PHTF) will be responsible for the administration of all ECAS donations including donor acknowledgments and issuance of grant awards.

Unintentional drowning is the leading cause of death in children aged one to four years. Swimming lessons reduce the risk of fatal and non-fatal drownings by 88% among that same age group. Step Into Swim and Every Child A Swimmer share the belief that swimming lessons save lives. This new partnership, in combination with the support from pool and hot tub industry professionals, will give more children the opportunity to learn this life-saving skill.

In December of 2020, Rowdy Gaines became the vice president of Partnerships and Development for PHTA with the responsibility of overseeing the Step Into Swim program. He will be working closely with Brent Rutemiller, CEO of ISHOF and his staff to raise money for drowning prevention measures and awareness.

“I have worked my whole career to promote swim lessons and to prevent childhood drowning. I can’t think of a better partnership to further this cause than to work with ISHOF to make Every Child A Swimmer,” says Gaines.

“Through this collaboration, both PHTA and ISHOF will leverage our respective strengths to create learn-to-swim opportunities for communities across the country. Together, we hope to increase conversations about water safety in order to mitigate the tragedy of unintentional drowning,” says PHTA President and CEO Sabeena Hickman.

“This relationship builds upon the International Swimming Hall of Fame recent success with the Florida State Legislature where the Every Child A Swimmer bill passed requiring schools to inform parents on the importance of teaching their children how to swim,” says Bill Kent, chairman of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

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