YMCA Gets Money for Life Jackets

With programs designed to teach kids about safe activity around pools, rivers, lakes and beaches, the Bridgewater Family YMCA has received a grant to help its programs continue to move forward.

Chris Trigg, program director for the Bridgewater branch of the Somerset Valley YMCA has received a grant from the West Marine to purchase 25 new life jackets as part of its Learn to Swim program.

“As part of the YMCA Learn to Swim program, we teach safety in, on and around the water,” said YMCA branch executive Timothy Dry. “To this end, we cover boating safety as part of our program.”

And part of that program is to teach kids how to use the life jackets.

According to a release from the YMCA about the grant money, drowning is the second leading cause of death among children ages two through 14, so practicing using a life jacket around the pool, with lifeguards available, allows the kids to try something new and get practice using the materials.

Through the program, children learn how to correctly size and wear life jackets, as well as gain strategies for swimming while wearing them.

“Our group size is usually from three to 10 people,” Dry said. “During our summer camps, we might teach 25 people about life jackets at once.”

“With our new supply, we can ‘suit up’ 25 people at one time,” he added. “The Y works with about 600 children each week in our Learn to Swim program.”

Dry said the YMCA currently has about six old life jackets, but they do not last forever.

“They wear out from use over time, and need to be replaced,” he said.

When parents sign their children up for swimming lessons at the YMCA, Dry said, they also automatically get lessons in using the life jackets.

The West Marine, which has given the grant to the YMCA, is a contributor to the organization’s boating safety program, and encourages children to enjoy boating as a recreational activity.

“At the Y, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve,” Dry said in the release from the YMCA. “We are very grateful to West Marine for helping us to ensure the safety and well-being of the youth in our care.”

For more information about programs at the Bridgewater Family YMCA, visit the website at ymcasomersetvalley.org.