What We Do
We want to change your family tree when it comes to swimming. By helping your child to be the first in your family to learn to swim, we hope to not only prevent your child from drowning but also believe that swimming skills will be passed on to your future generations. You can break the chain in your family history of not being able to swim. Some day this may save you or someone you love.
How We Do It
We partner with local swim schools and clubs to provide no-cost swim lessons to under-resourced first generation swimmers. A first generation swimmer is someone who is the first in their immediate family to learn how to swim. You may apply for our program by filling out the application. Your child must be between the ages of 4-16. All non-swimmer parents are encouraged to apply on behalf of their children.
10
10 people die every day from unintentional drownings
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20% of ALL drowning victims are under the age of 15 years old
2
drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death of children ages 1-14 years old
Zane tanabe
Hi, I’m Zane, the founder of the First Generation Swim Foundation. I started swimming when I was four years old and as I got better, I joined a swim team. Now at age 16, I play water polo (see me in the funny cap) and can’t remember a time when I could not swim. But I know that not everyone has this opportunity.
I got the idea from my former water polo coach. A four-time Olympian and gold medal winner, Coach Brenda Villa started the Menlo Mavericks water polo club in part to help under-resourced kids try water polo. I thought of how cool it would be to start my own non-profit, but I was afraid of the work to start and maintain my own foundation. However, one day I learned that the entire family of one of my best friends on the team did not even know how to swim. Without the Mavericks, my friend would not have had a reason to learn to swim. This shocking fact gave me the courage to start the First Generation Swim Foundation. The best way to not drown is to know how to swim.
And if you know how to swim, you will probably teach your own kids to swim. I’m lucky that I learned to swim at an early age. Swimming has also led me to discover competitive swimming and water polo, which I am passionate about today. My hope is that if you are the first in your family to swim, you will find the same joy in the water, and some day this may save your life or that of someone you love.
Why Learn to Swim
Learning to swim is not difficult, but you need a place to learn and skilled instructors to teach you the basics. If you provide the desire to learn, then we can take care of everything else.
BASIC SWIM SKILLS
Your first step on this amazing journey is to learn the basics of water safety and swimming. These skills will prevent you from drowning as well as set you up for more advanced learning.
save your life or that of another
Basic swim skills will allow you to save your own life should you fall into the water or stray into the deep end of a pool. As you become a better swimmer, you will gain the strength and skills that may be required to save the life of someone else.
swimming for fun and sport
Once you learn to swim, you can take the next step of becoming more advanced in your technique. It’s at this point that many will not only swim for fun but also consider swimming as a sport.
change your future forever
Knowing how to swim and not being afraid of the water will make it much more likely that you will pass on these same skills to your children someday. As the first in your family to learn to swim, you will affect your and your family’s future.
