Know someone who should learn to swim? These programs could help

The Wardle Family YMCA will offer swim lessons and water safety initiatives as the weather gets warmer.

The YMCA’s Learn to Swim program taught 1,500 lessons to children and adults last year — about half of those for free through financial assistance or to nonprofit organizations and local schools. The swim lessons include Safety On the Water, a segment that works with parents and caregivers to teach water safety skills.

An eight-session swim lesson course teaches children how to handle unexpected water situations — like how to reach the surface if they submerge and to safely reach a pool’s edge or exit any body of water.

The YMCA’s annual Beaufort River Swim will be held June 10. The 3.2-mile, open-water swim serves as a fundraiser for the YMCA’s swim lesson programs.

Those interested in swim lessons, the water safety program or the Beaufort River Swim can visit www.ymcabeaufortcounty.com or call aquatics director Lisa Redwine at 843-522-9622.

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 8:26 AM with the headline "Know someone who should learn to swim? These programs could help."