One with the Water, a non-profit swim school dedicated to providing access to the lifesaving skill of swimming to everyone, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources, is honored and pleased to announce they’ve been awarded a generous grant from the Santa Monica chapter of the international Kiwanis organization. Approaching their eighth anniversary this August, One with the Water will use the money provided to fund individual scholarships for special needs children with limited financial resources. Children like Nicole.
Nicole was born healthy. For seven years, she was a normal, happy vivacious girl – until the seizures started. At age seven, she was diagnosed with epilepsy, which spiraled rapidly out of control. Therapy, medication, nothing worked to slow her seizures, which culminated in a seizure that left her with permanent damage on her right side.
When Nicole started swimming lessons with One with the Water, she rolled onto the pool deck in a wheelchair. Now, she walks onto the pool deck with her mother and brother each day, a huge grin on her face. The benefits of swimming are evident in all her therapies, increasing her strength and mobility at a rapid rate. She loves the water most though, and for those thirty minutes each time, she works hard, stretching her arms across the lane, stitching uncooperative muscle fiber and wayward neurons back together. For Nicole, swimming has restored her in more ways than one.
About One with the Water
One with the Water believes that everyone deserves access to the lifesaving skill of swimming, especially children and adults with high risk, high needs, and limited resources. Swimming lessons are taught using growth-mindset techniques, creating transformative miracles in their students both in and out of the water, as they shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The organization is staffed by professional swimmers, expert competitive swimmers, and former Olympians. Founder, Executive Director, and Head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe has a Level 5 Disability Certification with the American Swimming Coaches Association and has trained with Kahlon Family Services and Inizio Interventions to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs. Tax-deductible donations to the One with the Water Swimming Foundation can be made at the organization’s website: OneWithTheWater.org.
About Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica
The mission of the international Kiwanis organization is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. Established in 1922, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica is one of the top contributors to the children and community of Santa Monica, providing $30,000 worth of college scholarships last year and volunteering both time and money to support the local Boys and Girls clubs and multiple other local nonprofits serving the children of Santa Monica.
For more information, visit www.kiwanisclubsm.org
Media Inquiries: One with the Water: 323.364.Swim (7946)
Website: OneWithTheWater.org
Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.