COLUMBIA, SC – The TODAY Show visited the Jeep Rogers Family YMCA in April to spotlight the importance of water safety and learning to swim. The story featured an interview with NBC’s TODAY Show Anchor Craig Melvin and his brother Ryan (age 36), who is taking swim lessons at the Jeep Rogers Y.
It also included information about the Y’s Safety Around Water (SAW) program, which teaches 2nd graders at Richland Two Schools basic lessons on safety while in and around water.
Two segments aired on the TODAY show on Tuesday, May 17.
“At the Y, we believe everyone young and old, regardless of background or income level, should have access to swim lessons,” said Jeff Casey, YMCA of Columbia VP of Operations. “We are excited that the TODAY Show is helping bring awareness to water safety and sharing Ryan Melvin’s journey to becoming a swimmer. All the statistics show that swim lessons save lives and during the month of April and May the Jeep Rogers Y, in partnership with the Richland Two School District, taught over 1,200 children the skills they need to be safe in and around water.”
More than 100 years ago, the Y created the concept of group swim lessons and to this day, teaches more than 1 million children nation-wide invaluable water safety and swimming skills every year.
[su_divider size=”1″ margin=”25″]May is National Water Safety Month, promoting public education regarding safe practices for kids and adults when they are in and around water.
