Free swim lessons honor the loss of a promising life

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There's nothing like a cool pool to put a smile on a kid's face, but learning to swim is an important rite of passage.

Carlene Brown brought her grandson Chris to the Hoover High pool for swim lessons.

"They're going to go to bodies of water whether we like it or not. They're going to find a creek. They're going to find a canal, a pool, even the public pools. They're gonna a find a way in, they gonna swim and if they don't know how to swim, they are gonna drown."

Chris, who's 9-years old, said the lessons had made him a much better swimmer.

The high dive is where all the kids want to be, but you have to be a good swimmer before the lifeguard lets you take the plunge.

Families pay $75 for ten lessons at Fresno Unified pools.

This is the swim party season, so Carlene wants Chris to be safe.

"We don't know if he goes to someone else's home, how attentive they're going to be to the children in the water."

A mayor's scholarship for free lessons is also available at Edison and McLane High.

It was inspired by the late Neng Thao, who drowned last year in the San Joaquin River.

Shaun Schaefer Works in Fresno's Parks and Recreation Department; he called Thao, "Just a cream of the crop, wonderful individual."

The 18-year-old died just before graduation. Thao would've been one of Edison High's valedictorians and was set to attend UC Berkeley.

"In his honor really trying to teach young people in our community the importance of swimming, which is a life skill, and then also respect for the water."

Schaefer says instructors also teach the kids about potential water hazards such as canals and rivers and to stay away from them.

If you are interested in the free swim lessons, you can call (559) 621-2900 to sign up.

It is first come, first served.