FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Donors Become Heroes to Needy Kids
Los Angeles, CA – October 6, 2016 – One with the Water, a non-profit swim school, dedicated to teaching life-changing swimming skills to kids and adults – many of them with disabilities or special needs – was honored for its mission and achievements this September with a generous grant from the Coast 2 Coast Swim Challenge (C2C) and private donors earmarked for 46 at-risk youth. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this August, One with the Water is using the grant to cover a complete program of small-group swim lessons so that at-risk children can learn to swim at the Culver City Municipal Plunge.
The 1,300 member, sixteen-year-old LA TRI Club expanded its focus to include philanthropy, founding the Coast 2 Coast Swim Challenge (C2C) in 2011 to help reverse alarming drowning statistics: drowning is the leading cause of death among children 14 and under in California. Since its inception, hundreds of swimmers have participated in the C2C, swimming thousands of miles and raising funds to provide swim lessons to more than 3,600 kids in the Southland.
“The LA TRI Club has made an impact on kids all over the Southland,” says LA TRI Club board member Larry Turkheimer. “Now, once again, we have stepped forward to help a great coach and organization have the ability to give kids the opportunity to learn to swim, exercise, feel accomplished, and most importantly, save themselves in the water.” Grants and donations to One with the Water pay exclusively for pool space, insurance, and instruction for kids and families with limited financial means. Many schools lack the financial resources, personnel and facilities to teach children to learn to swim. One with the Water fills that need, with experienced and specially-trained instructors and a nimble, low-overhead, non-profit model of operation.
About One with the Water
One with the Water offers swimming lessons so that kids and children can learn to swim, from total beginner to competitive athlete. In addition to their national-level competitive swimming skills, One with the Water’s instructors are trained to work with children and adults diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s, ADD, ADHD, sensory integration, anxiety, Down and CHARGE syndrome, auditory processing disorders and dyslexia. One with the Water also provides swim lessons to Service-Disabled Veterans and athletes of the U.S. Paralympics and U.S. Special Olympics. Founder and Head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe is a Level 3 Disability Swim Coach and US Masters Level 2. Tax-deductible donations to the One with the Water Swimming Foundation can be made at the organization’s website: OneWithTheWater.org.
About LA Tri Club
Based in Los Angeles, LA Tri Club was founded in 2000 to provide a network of information, support services, training and racing activities, friendship and fun for the growing triathlon community. Today with more than 1300 members, LA Tri Club has become one the world’s largest triathlon clubs. Whether it’s your first triathlon or your 50th, LA Tri Club gives you access to the tools, training and community needed to complete or compete.
For more information, visit www.latriclub.com.
Media Inquiries: One with the Water: 323.364.Swim (7946)
Website: OneWithTheWater.org
LA TRI Club: Roberta Silverman
818-849-6347
roberta@relay-pr.com
Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.