TAMPA, FL – Once again Amscot Financial has partnered with the Hillsborough Water Safety Team, led by St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, to provide children from low-income families with free swimming lessons. On May 19, Amscot will present a check for $1,000. Thanks to this partnership, 30 children will learn to swim this summer.
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages one to four, and drowning rates in Florida are more than double the national average. However, swimming lessons can be costly and inaccessible to many low-income families.
“Water safety is a particularly important issue in Florida,” says Ian MacKechnie, Amscot’s founder, chairmen and CEO. “We’re glad to support programs like this that help keep kids safe in and around the water.”
Eligible children will receive a swim lesson voucher through St. Joseph’s Children’s Advocacy Center and be able to redeem it at the Brandon Sports & Aquatics Center, City of Tampa and YMCA pool locations for a full swim lesson session equal to up to 8 free swim lessons.
Children are eligible to receive free swim lesson vouchers if they live in a household receiving food stamps, are enrolled in Medicaid or Hillsborough County’s free lunch program. Annually, Florida loses the equivalent of three to four preschool classrooms to drowning. Research indicates that formal swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.
For more information about swim lesson vouchers, please call The Safety Store at St. Joseph’s Children’s Advocacy Center at 813-554-8510.
Founded in 1989, Amscot Financial employs close to 2,000 associates who work at the company’s retail branches and at the company’s corporate headquarters in Tampa. The company offers check cashing, cash advances, and free money orders along with a host of other convenient financial services, 365 days a year.