DEP Announces Free Swimming Lessons for the Summer
Cooperative Effort with Department of Children and Families and YMCA

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that YMCAs throughout the state are offering free swimming lessons this summer at their facilities and at six state parks as part of a cooperative initiative with the DEP and the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

The lessons are part of a "Have a Safe Summer" campaign announced recently by Governor M. Jodi Rell, DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy and acting DCF Commissioner Susan I. Hamilton. The campaign features a website where families can now find comprehensive summer safety information at www.haveasafesummer.com. Details on the free swimming lessons, which will serve approximately 2,500 youngsters, are available at the Web site. Information on a variety of other water safety programs and swimming lessons, can be found at the DEP website at http://www.ct.gov/dep.

"We want to make sure our state residents will be as safe as possible while enjoying water recreation activities this summer," said Governor Rell. "Each year millions of residents and visitors enjoy Connecticut's many recreational opportunities, and I applaud DCF, DEP and their partners in taking the initiative to help make this summer a safe one for all."

"The DEP has been working very hard over the last few months to develop innovative ways to remind residents how important water safety is to everyone," said DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy. "Groups like the YMCA, the American Red Cross and local town recreation departments have been instrumental in these efforts. Working with DCF, we have found funding to provide free swimming lessons. We thank all of our partners for their enthusiasm and hard work helping us to better protect our citizens when they are on and in the water."

The lessons are part of a broader summer safety campaign that DCF is sponsoring that includes extensive radio advertising and the website that offers a variety of information on keeping children safe this summer. Commissioner Hamilton said, "This campaign helps us fulfill a critical role: helping parents gain access to information they need to keep their children safe and well cared for. Accidents happen - but they don't have to happen if parents have the right information and provide the right supervision.

"Raising children is complicated," Commissioner Hamilton added. "But there are simple things that every parent can do that can make a huge difference. So if we can make it easy to access useful information on timely topics, we can help parents be even better parents for their children."

The free swimming lessons will be conducted by YMCAs at their swimming pools and at six state parks throughout the state. The state parks where swimming lessons will be offered are:

• Burr Pond, Torrington
• Rocky Neck, East Lyme
• Sherwood Island, Westport
• Silver Sands, Milford
• Squantz Pond, New Fairfield
• Stratton Brook, Simsbury

Other swimming lessons will be offered at the following YMCAs:

• Bridgeport YMCA
• Fairfield YMCA
• Hartford Downtown YMCA
• Meriden YMCA
• New Britain YMCA
• New Haven YMCA Youth Center
• Regional YMCA of Western CT
• Stratford YMCA
• Valley-Shore YMCA
• Waterbury YMCA

For more information and to register for the free swimming lessons please contact the local YMCA at the numbers provided below:

• Bridgeport YMCA - 203-334-5551, ext 16
• Fairfield YMCA - 203-225-2834, ext 18
• Hartford Downtown YMCA - 860-522-9622, ext 2345
• Meriden YMCA - 203-235-6386
• New Britain YMCA - 860-229-3787
• New Haven YMCA Youth Center - 203-776-9622
• Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut - 203-775-1000
• Stratford YMCA - 203-375-5844
• Valley Shore YMCA - 860-399-9622
• Waterbury YMCA - 203-754-2181, ext 112
• Westport Weston YMCA - 203-226-8981, ext 119

<< Back to Archive