The YMCA of South Florida and the Florida Panthers had planned a press conference for Water Safety Awareness Month for May 23 at the Greater Hollywood YMCA Family Center, Hollywood, Fla.

Sadly, the night before, two young children ages 5 and 6 drowned. With such a tragedy taking place, the Y quickly refocused the purpose of the press conference to be a Call to Action! Parents, families, and the community were asked to be vigilant over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in watching the water whenever they are around it, no matter what type of water – pool, beach, lake or canal.

With the support of donors, like The Related Group, the YMCA of South Florida Mobile Aquatics Team is able to meet families where they live and bring swim lessons to their community pools.

A couple of the most common reasons kids don’t learn to swim are lack of transportation and scheduling. Parents work and can’t get from work to pick up the children and get them to lessons. The Mobile Aquatics Team goes to the apartment complex or community pool.

This spring, The Related Group partnered with the Y to provide swim lessons at Cutler Hammocks, an affordable housing complex in Cutler Bay. In the first two sessions, 29 kids have been made safer around water with a third session scheduled to begin July 8.

The safety of our members is a priority for the YMCA, that’s why we make sure all of our Aquatics staff are properly trained and certified. Our lifeguards and swim instructors are our first responders and in May, 152 of them came together at the Pembroke Pines YMCA Aquatic Center where they received training on Test Mark Protect, Emergency Action Plans, customer service and programming. They were also able to get certified or recertify for required CPR, AED and other required certifications. This was a great opportunity for Aquatics staff to showcase their skills and knowledge.