Congratulations to our Students on the Swim graduates!

We’ve got a new class of Students on the Swim graduates! During the two-week program, 2,120 second graders from 25 schools gained valuable water-safety skills that could potentially save their lives.

With financial support from Virginia Beach City Public Schools and the Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Foundation, the Students on the Swim program continues to grow and help more young swimmers. Students who are not even comfortable getting into the pool on the first day are diving, kicking, splashing, and fully submerging themselves by the last day, enjoying every minute with their peers and instructors in our recreation center pools.

Second graders from Cooke Elementary School submitted these very thoughtful thank you notes:

 “Dear rec center staff, thank you for inviting me to swim the past 2 weeks. One thing I learned was how to do elementary backstroke. My favorite part of swimming was that we could do dives at the end. Your friend, Jack. P.S. I can’t wait to teach my brother & sister how to swim.”

“Dear REC center, Thank you for having us at the pool. I love swimming and what I learned there. I also like all the strokes that you guys taught me. I also love using the life jackets, they are fun. your friend, Roman”

Help us keep it going with a donation

Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14. With your support, we can help prevent tragedy in our community by teaching our children how to be safe around the water.

Every donation counts. A $100 donation can fund a row of students in the class. $500 can fund a class, and for $2,000 your organization can fund a school. Each student, along with the instruction they receive from certified instructors, also receives a swim bag to carry their swimsuit and personal belongings. 

Learn more about Students on the Swim and donate today at VBPRF.org