Iowa City holding fundraiser to offer free swimming lessons

IOWA CITY - Piano lessons and soccer camps are fun and educational, but swimming lessons can save your life.

That's why the city of Iowa City wants to offer free swimming lessons to low-income children.

'Everybody should learn how to swim,” said Matthew Eckhardt, Iowa City aquatics program supervisor. 'You don't have to play football. You don't have to play soccer. This (swimming) is what we call a life skill.”

The Iowa City Parks and Recreation Foundation is hosting a golf tournament Sept. 12 at Pleasant Valley Golf Course in Iowa City to raise money for swimming lessons. Organizers want to raise $4,000 to $5,000, which would pay for 125 to 150 eight-lesson sessions for low-income residents, Eckhardt said.

Nearly 4,000 people die each year from drowning in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children ages 1 to 4 than any other cause except birth defects. Even as kids get older, drowning is one of the top three causes of unintentional injury death, the CDC reports.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children age 5 and up be taught to swim and some research shows swimming lessons for younger kids can reduce drowning risk.

Recent Johnson County drowning deaths also have driven home the need for more people to learn to swim, Eckhardt said.

Somphaeng 'Meo” Syvixay, 35, drowned June 14 in the Coralville Lake. On July 15, Abby Miller, 3, died after being found underwater while swimming with siblings in her family's rural Johnson County stock tank.

Many Eastern Iowa cities offer discounts on swimming lessons for low-income residents.

Cedar Rapids residents who qualify for food stamps, Medicaid or energy assistance can get a 50 percent discount on fees for up to eight recreational programs, including swimming lessons, per family per year. Qualified low-income Marion residents also can get a 50 percent break on swimming lessons and other recreational programming.

Low-income Coralville residents get 75 percent off rec programs, including swimming lessons, up to $100 per year, per child.

Iowa City, which delivered more than 1,000 sessions of swimming lessons in 2013, has had a low-income discount for years, Eckhardt said.

'We still found some people weren't able to participate,” he said.

Parks and Rec staff teamed up with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County to offer a free five-day session in June focusing on emergency swim skills.

'It evolved from that to ‘how can we do this on a broader scale?',” Eckhardt said.

The golf tournament will raise money for swimming lesson vouchers families can redeem during any open session next summer. That way, families can pick a time and location that works for their schedule, he said.

The golf tournament starts with a noon lunch, followed by a shotgun start at 1 p.m. The cost is $60 per person or $200 per foursome. To register, go to www.golfdigestplanner.com/25534-icgolfouting/ or contact Eckhardt at matthew-eckhardt@iowa-city.org or (319) 887-6117.