Friends of Swim with Gina

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Any amount helps - ALL donations go directly to teaching kids in need.

WHO ARE WE?

For over 20 years, Gina Hester, owner of Swim with Gina has provided swim lessons and water safety instruction to babies, children, teens, and adults. Friends of Swim with Gina is a 501c3 and was established in 2019 to ensure all children have access to swim lessons.

THE MISSION

Teaching a child to swim is like teaching a child to read; opportunities are opened. We want to educate children in water safety and empower them with the life-saving skill of learning to swim. Learning to swim builds confidence to conquer other life skills.

  • Low and middle-income homes account for more than 90% of unintentional drownings
  • Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of five.
  • 70% of African American children, 60% of Latino children and 40% of Caucasian children have low or no swimming ability
  • Formal swim lessons reduce the risk of childhood drownings by 88%
  • Professional and certified swim lessons cost over $300 per year per child.

This additional cost is not feasible in low-income households.

Friends of Swim with Gina realized the unmet needs of children in our community and believes all families should have access to water safety classes.

We are a scholarship only, a non-profit program that exists to promote water safety and prevent drownings in our community – East Texas!

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

We offer a variety of sponsorship levels to support East Texas children in need of swim lessons and water safety education.

Gold Fin

$500 provides two weeks of private swim instruction for a sibling group, an age-appropriate PFD (personal floatation device) for each child and water safety education material to take home to their family.

Silver Fin

$300 provides one child two weeks of private swim instruction, an age-appropriate PFD (personal flotation device) and water safety education material to take home to family.

Diver

$150 provides one week of private swim lessons for one child and water safety education material to take home to family.

Flipper

$100 provides one week of group swim lessons for one child.

Splasher

$50 combines your donation with other donors to provide group swim lessons for a child.

All donations are tax-deductible and can be made payable to Friends of Swim With Gina

Submit the Scholarship Application