2025Los Angeles, CA, July 16, 2013, 10:54 am -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- One with the Water®, a non-profit swim school in Los Angeles recently received a generous grant from the Los Angeles Triathlon Club to provide swimming lessons for 32 special-needs students and at-risk youth. The grant will cover a complete program of small-group swim lessons, taking each child from no water experience to basic water safety and swimming ability.
The 1,800+ member, thirteen-year-old LA TRI Club has recently expanded its focus to include philanthropy. The LA TRI Club has made an impact on kids all over the southland, says LA TRI Club board member Larry Turkheimer. Now, once again, we have stepped forward to help One with the Water have the ability to give kids the opportunity to swim and most importantly, feel accomplished.
Turkheimer was inspired to donate to One with the Water after seeing the benefits made from last year's Coast2Coast Swim Challenge proceeds. I was approached by Coach Kenneth Rippetoe of One with the Water to see if the LA TRI Club would be interested in supporting their programs. Last year we helped 20 needy kids learn to swim through One with the Water. This year, One with the Water has offered the swimming lessons to families of CoachArt, a non-profit offering free lessons in the arts and athletics to patients ages 6-18 living with chronic illnesses such as Arthritis, Cancer, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Sickle Cell Disease and Asthma.
One with the Water offers competitive swim training and year-round swim instruction for children and adults with a wide variety of skill levels, from total beginner to competitive athlete. In addition to their national-level competitive swimming skills, One with the Water's swim instructors are trained to work with children and adults diagnosed with autism, Asperger's, ADD, ADHD, Down and CHARGE syndrome, auditory processing disorders and dyslexia and others. Founder and Head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe, certified by the American Swimming Coach Association Disability Level 3, was featured on the Sundance Channel's documentary program Push Girls', working with paraplegic swimmer Mia Schaikewitz.
Since its founding, One with the Water has given out over $20,000 in scholarships to needy students and changed the lives of 400 swimmers. One father whose son is on the Autism Spectrum reported that his son really responded to head Coach Kenneth Rippetoe, and looks forward to his class more than anything else right now. After the first class, he suddenly looked forward to and enjoyed swimming, as opposed to dreading it. He made huge strides, the biggest he has ever made, working with One with the Water.
Tax-deductible donations to the Pay-It-Forward scholarship program of One with the Water, a 501(c)(3), can be made at the organization's website: OneWithTheWater.org/donate.aspx.
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