SWIM ON Foundation, a St. Louis non-profit, was created by the McMullin family to honor the memory of Nicholas McMullin who drowned at the age of 22-months, and to prevent other families from suffering the tragedy of drowning. The mission of SWIM ON Foundation is to raise awareness about drowning, which is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 - 4 (significantly ahead of motor vehicle accidents) and second for kids ages 5 - 9. Teens have the second highest rate of drowning. Drowning, however is the most preventable injury. SWIM ON Foundation also works to inform people about the layers of protection that can, and do, prevent drowning.
LISTEN: SWIM ON Foundation co-founder Lisa McMullin
This summer, SWIM ON Foundation is conducting a “Learn to Swim” campaign that addresses racial disparities in swimming and water safety. The goal of the campaign is to reach African-American families across the St. Louis region, particularly families in north St. Louis and north St. Louis County, and encourage them to enroll their children in swim lessons, which can reduce drowning by 88%. African-American children are drowning at more that three times the rate of other children. Black children ages 5 - 9 drown at rates more than 5 times higher than white children. At the same time, 78% of Black kids have little or no swimming ability according to their parents. Learning how to swim can prevent drowning but it is also a life skill like learning how to read. SWIM ON wants to change the disparities and wants to empower Black kids.