Free swimming lessons for children available around Bay Area

CLEARWATER, Fla. - May is National Water Safety Month, and organizations across the Bay Area are kicking off programs to help kids learn how to swim and be safe around water.

This comes just in time for summer. Pinellas County Schools partnered up with the Juvenile Welfare Board, Clearwater for Youth, and Stingray and ION Physical Therapy Network to get nearly 200 students free swim lessons at the North Greenwood Recreation Center.

You can find more information here.

The YMCA is also starting its free "Safety Around Water" lessons. These classes fill up fast. For more information on how to sign up, click here.

Last year, the Tampa YMCA taught almost 14,000 children to swim and be safe around water, which is critical because more children under the age of four drown in Florida than anywhere else in the nation.

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