Making sure children can swim

For many young children who do not know how to swim, the treacherous currents and depths in pools and natural waters, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, can pose a hazardous risk. Each year from 2011-2020, an average of 4,012 unintentional drowning deaths occurred in the United States.

Inspired to teach first-generation swimmers in the Bay Area, Carlmont High School junior Zane Tanabe started the 501(c)(3) nonprofit First Generation Swim Foundation. The foundation’s goal is to provide free swim lessons through scholarships to first-generation swimmers ages 4-16 to prevent kids from drowning.

“I swim and play water polo, so swimming is basically second nature to me. I feel it’s very sad that people die doing something that I love. So, I’m trying to do my part in solving this problem,” Tanabe said.

Founded in 2020, the First Generation Swim Foundation first needed to fundraise money to provide scholarships. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person fundraisers could not be hosted. So Tanabe decided to host virtual fundraisers.

“Our original plan was to have a walkathon or swimathon to raise money, but we couldn’t do that due to the coronavirus. So we ended up having to adapt to the pandemic and have a virtual walkathon,” Tanabe said.

The nonprofit ended up raising $6,000 from its first walkathon. Tanabe says the foundation is planning to have another walkathon this summer. So far, the program has provided swim lessons for 15 recipients.

A parent of one recipient said, “It's important for my daughter to learn how to swim and have the ability to save her own life in the event that I am unable to. She loves water but I'm worried because I can't swim so I can't save her if something were to happen.”

The parent of another recipient said, “Knowing how to swim not only can save the children’s own lives, but also save our family’s lives. My son can also teach his own kids to swim later in life.”

For more information about how to apply go to firstwimmer.org/apply. If you would like to donate to First Generation Swim Foundation go to firstswimmer.org/donate.

Eileen Liu is a sophomore at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.