Roeper Receives USA Swimming Grant For Make-A-Splash Program

The Roeper School is among a short list of institutions across the country that received grants from USA Swimming to continue water-safety lessons for underprivileged children.

The school's Make-A-Splash program initiatives in 19 states to receive a portion of a $250,000 grant from the USA Swimming Foundation, according to a news release issued this week. More than 130 programs across the country applied for the grant.

Created in 2007, the Make a Splash program is a national child-focused water safety initiative of that caters specifically to low-income families and minorities. According to a research survey sponsored by the program, six out of 10 African American and Latino children in the U.S. are unable to swim. Roeper will be able to provide some lessons for free or at reduced costs as a result of the grant funds.

“This funding allows our local partners to provide swimming lessons to children who otherwise may never have the opportunity to learn the life-skills of swimming,” said Debbie Hesse, Executive Director of the USA Swimming Foundation.

The foundation provides the grants annually, and distributed nearly $3 million to community groups over the years thanks to individual donors, other foundations, and corporate sponsors, the news release stated.

This summer will mark Roeper's fourth consecutive year in the program.

Attendance was strong with well over 100 participants in 2012, according to Roeper's website. In 2011 more than 70 children from Metro Detroit attended and swam in Roeper's pool, doubling the overall attendance from 2010.

Since its inception, Make a Splash has helped more than 1.8 million children across the country learn how to swim, a press release for the organization states.