Aquatics Guide - 2023 - 10

Ramping Up Diversity Outreach
to Reduce Drowning Deaths
By Stephanie Shook, CPRP
National efforts expand access to water competency and life-changing opportunities
W
hen she was 10 years old, Angela Beale-Tawfeeq decided to try
out for the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation swimming and
diving team, which is presently known as Pride, Determination
and Resilience (PDR) Swimming. The problem was BealeTawfeeq
didn't know how to dive; she had never even had a swim lesson. A Black
youth from North Philadelphia, where residents today make up a population that
is 51 percent Black, 42 percent Latino, with 40 percent living below the poverty
line, Beale-Tawfeeq had the opportunity of not only learning to swim, but also
being coached and mentored by Jim Ellis in the waters of her community.
" He provided a space where water
and aquatics and swimming were
seen as a medium to help kids really
change their lives and urban environments, "
says Beale-Tawfeeq.
Beale-Tawfeeq became a certified
American Red Cross lifeguard at 16,
a Water Safety Instructor®
at 18, and
was a lifeguard throughout the years
she attended Howard University on an
athletic scholarship for the swimming
and diving team. She is now an associate
professor at Rowan College; a
board member for Diversity in Aquatics
and Habithèque Blue and Green
Fund; and Scientific Advisory Council
member for the Red Cross.
The trajectory of Beale-Tawfeeq's
life and career is one of the goals
of aquatics programs striving to
promote equity and social justice
via water safety and drowning prevention
in Black and historicallymarginalized
communities.
It's also a goal of the American
Red Cross Aquatics Centennial Campaign,
begun in 2014, to cut drowning
rates in 50 cities with high numbers
of drowning deaths or high drowning
rates. The campaign has delivered in
those communities by providing an
additional 120,000 sets of swimming
lessons, and training more than 1,600
additional lifeguards and an additional
1,100 water safety instructors.
" We want to make certain that children
gain the life skill and the joy of
swimming, but also see a pathway to
job opportunities within their community, "
says Connie Harvey, director of
the Red Cross Centennial initiative.
A Public Health Threat
A 2014 national survey conducted
for the Red Cross found that 80 percent
of Americans said they could
swim, but only 56 percent of selfdescribed
swimmers can perform five
basic skills (step or jump into the water
over your head; return to the surface
and float or tread water for one minute;
turn around in a full circle and
find an exit; swim 25 yards to an exit;
and exit from the water - if in a pool,
without using the ladder) that could
save their life in the water.
The disparity between white peoAquatics
directors in park and recreation departments
with pools in underserved communities are wellacquainted
with social determinants.
10 Parks & Recreation | A QU AT IC S GUIDE 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
ple and Black people in terms of
swimming skills is evident in statistics
from the U.S. Centers for DisPHOTO
COURTESY OF AMERICAN RED CROSS
Aquatics Guide - 2023

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