Swim With Me! Foundation (previously known as Ready, Set, Swim) teaches swimming and water safety to children, who have been referred to us by an agency, school or community organization.  We teach children 6-18 year olds in 8-week sessions, three times per year. Each participant receives lessons, a bathing suit, a towel, a swim bag, shampoo, and a snack.

Why do we exist?

Swim With Me! is a community-based foundation that provides swimming lessons to at-risk children and youth, including newcomers to Canada, who are among the most vulnerable to drowning.  We teach water safety to children to reduce their risk of drowning in Winnipeg’s pools and rivers and in Manitoba’s lakes.

Swim With Me! was started out of a need in the community. Each year, we learn that more and more people are losing their lives to water-related deaths:

• Manitoba has one of the highest rates of drowning in Canada per capita

• More people drown in Manitoba each year than die from impaired driving

• Newcomers to Canada are 4 times more likely to drown than people born in Canada (Canadian Drowning Report - 2016 Edition, Lifesaving Society)

Swim With Me! has been formed out of the need to get the most vulnerable groups – those who do not have access, those who are new to our country and those who simply can’t afford the price tag – into the water safely.