Swimming is an essential life skill, but according to the Red Cross, more than half of all teens can’t perform basic swim safety skills and are embarrassed to take lessons with children. Black Youth ages 4-19 are 5.5 times more likely to drown than their white peers and 79% of children from low-income families are at risk of drowning. 

In NYC alone, more than one in four teens have no swimming ability and drowning is the second leading preventable cause of death among 15 to 19 year olds. 

Meanwhile, I practically grew up in the water; joyously swimming, surfing, paddle boarding, scuba diving, and competitively playing water polo. Swimming-related activities have always brought me calmness and joy; yet, many of my peers have never been afforded this opportunity, and instead approach the water with fear. Attending a public high school in NYC, when sharing my passion for the water, my classmates would often respond differently: My parents never learned to swim and feared I would drown. As a Muslim girl, I am not allowed to expose my skin and wear a swimsuit. Swim classes in the city are too expensive for my family.

I quickly realized this needed to change. This inspired me to become a First Strokes instructor. 

First Strokes provides free swimming lessons to students who never learned to swim.  It's an  empowering environment for peers to inspire one another in the pool with the belief that it is never too late to take your first strokes.

A majority of our First Strokes swimmers are the first ones in their family to learn to swim, breaking the barriers to the pool that have been maintained for so long.