MARSHFIELD, MA …On Thursday, June 20th, 2024, kids and adults at aquatic facilities all around the world united for the 15th year to teach kids vital water safety skills to help prevent childhood drowning. The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™ (WLSL), took place over 24 hours at hundreds of aquatic facilities, swim schools and waterparks in more than 20 countries.
The Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield served as an official Host Facility for the 2024 WLSL event and provided 164 Camp Swim Lessons and 172 Powers Aquatics Swim Lessons over the course of the day.
Water related accidents and drowning risk peak during the month of July in the U.S. as people flock to pools, waterparks and natural bodies of water to beat the heat. Drowning is the leading cause of death for kids ages 1-4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for kids 5-14 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death world-wide.
“We want to equip families with an understanding of the basic swimming skills and water safety knowledge they need to be safer in, on and around the water,” said Jim Bunnell, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield. “Knowing how to swim and prevent drowning is truly a matter of life and death for all families, regardless of race, economics or geography.”
Bunnell continued, “It’s imperative that every family member learns how to swim and learns about water safety. We provide swim and water safety skills programming at the Club’s outdoor pool during the summer to families throughout the South Shore.”
Water Safety Programming at the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield
The Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield partners with well-known swim and water safety entity Powers Aquatics. Powers Aquatics is the South Shore’s premier provider of swim and water safety programs and operates and manages water safety lessons at the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield. Swim programs are led by Certified Instructors and include Adaptive, PAST, Little Crushers, Community, Water Polo, Masters as well as Adult Lessons. The Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield received a grant from the Michael Phelps Foundation (and their signature IM Program) and implemented a water safety program.
About: The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson was created to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim to prevent childhood drowning. Since its inception, more than 383,000 children and adults have participated in WLSL Lessons in 53 countries on six continents generating billions of media impressions about the importance of learning to swim. For more information, visit WLSL.org.
About the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield
The Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield’s mission is to ensure that every child has mentors and champions in life. The Club provides programming opportunities in the Boys & Girls Club of America’s (BGCA) five core areas including leadership, education, health, arts, and fitness. The Club serves families with children ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old, and provides critical services the community needs to support children and families over the short- and long-term. For more information, visit their website bgcmarshfield.org or call 781-834-2582.
