Summer is almost here — and a lifeguard shortage at Connecticut pools and beaches may cause closures this season. Stewie the Duck Swim School in Norwalk wants to help.
Stew and Kim Leonard lost their toddler in a drowning accident in 1989. Stew’s father founded Stew Leonard’s grocery store. Last year, the couple opened Stewie the Duck, which teaches 1,000 kids to swim every week — and donates the profits to cover swim lessons for kids in need.
Stew Leonard Jr. said they’re giving away 40,000 lessons this summer.
“We've been talking, talking, talking about for 30 plus years now, be safe around the water, be safe, be safe. Now, with this swim school, we're able to turn it into action,” Leonard Jr. said.
The school is also training 200 people to be lifeguards.
“There are beaches around the state of Connecticut, like Hammonasset, where they may not be able to open parts of the beach this year because they don't have enough lifeguards,” Blumenthal said. “In a low-income economy, we all want full employment. Young people have other things to do.”
“The pools start opening, they go on vacation to different places, and the drownings happen,” Leonard Jr. said. “And what we found was kids of color are five times more likely to drown.”
Brenda Penn-Williams, president of the Norwalk NAACP, said the closure of the Norwalk YMCA, paired with the lack of other public swimming pools in the area, has led to disparities between Black children and their white peers. According to Penn-Williams, 64% of Black children can’t swim.
At a press conference about water safety on Monday, The Leonards and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) were joined by Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines and Paralympic hopeful Ali Truwit, a former Yale swimmer who lost her foot and part of her leg in a shark attack last summer.
“The water has just always been a place for me of peace and joy. And, you know, not only have I always loved the water, but we're discussing here today how swimming saves lives. And it certainly saved mine,” Truwit said.
Truwit was able to swim to safety after being attacked in Turks and Caicos. “Knowing how to swim was what saved us,” she said.
Gaines, who won three Olympic gold medals, is now the vice president of partnerships & development with the Pool & Hot Tub Association. The association donated $200,000 to support Stewie the Duck’s mission — that will pay for half the lessons they’re giving away this summer.
“When a child takes swimming lessons, it reduces that risk of drowning by 88%,” Gaines said.
Drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages one to four, according to the CDC.
Stew Jr., Gaines, Truwit, and Stewie the Duck chief officer Laurie Houseknecht raced in the organization’s pool at the conclusion of the event.
