The spiritual mission of Team Horner — to make every child a swimmer — has been making great progress in Florida over the last few years. It is now receiving attention and action from outside the state.
The Every Child a Swimmer Program is a division of International Swimming Hall of Fame. It provides scholarships at low or no cost to swim schools in order to fund lessons for families with low incomes. The program allocated $550,000 to these swim lessons in 2022.
The Every Child a Swimmer law was passed by the State of Florida in 2021 under the leadership of Bill Kent, CEO at Team Horner. The law requires that all Florida schools provide information to parents when enrolling their children in school about the importance of water safety courses and lessons in saving lives. The law also requires that schools provide information on how to receive free or reduced-cost swim lessons in their locality.
Georgia and Arkansas have also passed this life-saving law. Casey McGovern is the manager of Every Child a Swimming Program. She has a passion for this program and is persistent because she lost her daughter Edna Mae to drowning in 2009. Casey McGovern, the manager of Every Child a Swimmer’s Program, is driven by her personal experience after losing her daughter Edna Mae to drowning in 2009.
McGovern was present when Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law the Every Child A Swimmer Bill on May 4, 2014. She was also present, along with Kent Dooley and Mike Dooley of Team Horner, President and COO on May 17, when Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Every Child A Swimmer bill into law in Arkansas.
Every Child a Swimming aims to pass this legislation in all 50 US states as well as spreading education and funding swim lessons throughout the world. Every child should be educated on water safety, and have access to local swimming lessons. This basic survival skill is something that every child should learn.
You can help donate today at https://everychildaswimmer.org/donate. If you are in need of lessons, you can find a swim school who is offering scholarships based on financial need here: https://everychildaswimmer.org/find-a-lesson.
