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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Family Swimming Legacy: Skills for Life, Passed Across Generations

MLK Day Author: Swim Strong Foundation When we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we often focus on his speeches, his marches, and his transformative impact on civil rights. But there's another part of his story that speaks directly to families today—his deliberate commitment to swimming with his children and passing water confidence from one generation to the next. From his childhood lessons at the Butler Street YMCA in Atlanta to teaching his own children, Dr. King understood that swimming wasn't just...

January 19, 2026Articles, Blog, VideosComments OffRead more...

Essential Situational Knowledge of Water Safety Education: Watch Our Live Stream Replay

As we enter fall with warm weather still keeping families near water, and as our school programs begin their new season, we want to share a comprehensive water safety education live stream that every family needs to see. The Partnership That Makes This Possible We're grateful to Historic Neir's Tavern and owner Loycent Gordon for providing the platform for this life-saving education. Through their Ambassador Program, they demonstrate how community businesses can amplify essential safety messages beyond their usual operations. As Loycent...

January 12, 2026Articles, Blog, VideosComments OffRead more...

World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2025: Educational Partnership Preview

Review Our Teaching Approach Through the WCDP Presentation If you're exploring educational partnerships with Swim Strong Foundation, this World Conference on Drowning Prevention presentation provides a working example of how we teach situational water knowledge across different contexts. Previous WCDP Blog What these Slides Demonstrate This presentation shows our educational methodology in practice: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 The U.S. Water Safety Gap Framework How we contextualize drowning as the leading cause of death for children under 5, connecting home water risks to environmental awareness rather than just recreational swimming. Environmental and...

January 10, 2026Blog, Events, PDF, Swim Strong ProductsComments OffRead more...

Swim Strong Foundation at World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2025

Watch the Full Presentation Presenter: Shawn Slevin Affiliations: Swim Strong Foundation, New York, USA Global Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Rotary Club, Brisbane, Australia Water Safety Coalition, New York City, USA Multi Agency Taskforce on Life Guards and Water Safety, New York City, USA Presentation Title: Why Swimming Lessons Are Not Enough. Education is the Missing Link Swim Strong Foundation founder Shawn Slevin presented at the 2025 World Conference on Drowning Prevention (WCDP) held in Egypt, November 21-23, 2025. Conference Resources: WCDP 2025 Abstracts Book...

January 10, 2026Blog, VideosComments OffRead more...

Body Awareness and Swimming

Body awareness is important for us at all ages.  It helps us improve movement and coordination, which helps us in everyday tasks like walking, reaching for objects, and doing physical activities.   It is also important so we can avoid injury. Development of body awareness begins in early infancy when babies start to move, turning and rolling over, which helps build their gross motor skills. Providing activities and space for gross motor development offers children space to practice coordinated movements, spatial awareness,...

December 24, 2025Articles, Blog, PSAsComments OffRead more...

Swim Safety Lesson Makes a Splash: Read How Swim Strong Foundation is Protecting NYC’s Children

A powerful story of transformation and lifesaving education. Register below to read the full article from The Tablet—or watch our featured video if you're short on time. Featured in The Tablet: Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn's Official News Outlet We're excited to share that Swim Strong Foundation's recent water safety presentation at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Jackson Heights was featured in The Tablet, the respected newspaper serving Brooklyn and Queens' Catholic communities since 1908. The Tablet has been chronicling the lives,...

December 22, 2025Articles, Blog, Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...

Beach Safety: Life-Saving Wisdom From Our Rockaway Community

Beach Safety: Life-Saving Wisdom From Our Rockaway Community Summer drownings on New York's beaches continue to claim lives—but they don't have to. Those of us who live by the ocean understand its beauty and hidden dangers. We've created a 7-part video series featuring real Rockaway residents, lifeguards, and Swim Strong families sharing the water safety knowledge that keeps our community alive. The Hard Truth A beautiful day outside doesn't guarantee a beautiful day in the water. Storms 1,500 miles away in the Caribbean...

August 29, 2025Blog, PSAs, VideosComments OffRead more...

Community Partnership Creates Waves: Water Safety Message Reaches Rockaways

Our collaborative water safety campaign with Episcopal Health Services and NYC Parks has made a splash in local media, with The Rockawave featuring our World Drowning Prevention Day message to Rockaway residents and visitors. When Community Voices Unite The power of partnership was evident as Episcopal Health Services (EHS), Swim Strong Foundation, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) reminded Rockaway residents and visitors to stay safe in and around the water ahead of World Drowning Day....

August 3, 2025Blog, PSAsComments OffRead more...

Water Safety Awareness: A Community Effort for World Drowning Prevention Day

As we observe World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25th, Swim Strong Foundation joins Episcopal Health Services and the NYC Parks Department in emphasizing a critical message: drowning is preventable through education and awareness. "World Drowning Prevention Day is an urgent reminder that drowning is fast, silent, and preventable," said Shawn Slevin, Executive Director of Swim Strong Foundation. This sobering reality underscores why our year-round commitment to water safety education is more important than ever. The Statistics That Drive Our Mission Drowning...

July 25, 2025Blog, PSAsComments OffRead more...
Twelve-year-old Xaire stands on the pool deck at Brooklyn College, looking out over the indoor swimming pool with blue lane dividers. He's wearing a gray hoodie and the facility has wooden bleacher seating along the walls. The pool appears clean and well-maintained in this institutional recreational facility.

Why Every Brooklyn Parent Needs to Read This Investigation Right Now

The Investigation We Wish We Didn't Need to See Today's Brooklyn Paper investigation into Brooklyn's water safety crisis confirms what we've known at Swim Strong Foundation: the system is broken, and children are paying the price. When we lost Elyjha Chandler and Christian Perkins at Jacob Riis Park last summer, their mothers chose to turn grief into action through our Brooklyn South partnership. Now this investigation reveals why their advocacy is so desperately needed. The Reality Check The families featured in today's article –...

June 24, 2025Articles, Blog, Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...
An emotional group hug, likely between the mothers of the students who drowned, school officials, and water safety advocates, capturing the personal connection formed through this tragedy-turned-purpose initiative.

Turning Grief into Action: Brooklyn South’s Water Safety Initiative

A Community United by Purpose The summer of 2024 brought unimaginable tragedy to our Brooklyn South community when two promising young students—Elyjha and Christian—lost their lives to drowning at Riis Park. In the depths of their grief, their mothers made an extraordinary decision. Rather than allowing their pain to isolate them, they chose to transform their profound loss into purpose by becoming advocates for water safety education—knowledge that could have saved their children's lives. Partners in Prevention This initiative represents the power of partnership...

June 24, 2025BlogComments OffRead more...

Making Waves: Our Life-Saving Partnership with Kiwanis of the Rockaways

As we approach Memorial Day and the official start of beach season, we're thrilled to share some incredible news that's making a real difference in our community's water safety. We've partnered with Kiwanis of the Rockaways to provide free swimming lessons to 24 local children this year – and this is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-lasting collaboration to save lives in our waterfront community. Why This Partnership Matters Living in the Rockaways means being surrounded by 17...

May 25, 2025Articles, Blog, Swim Strong in The NewsComments OffRead more...