His near drowning experience at the age of 5 turned into another kind of statistic. Bronx born, Cullen Jones took lessons and has won 4 Olympic medals. In his role for Make a Splash, he sees himself when he starts teaching New York City kids to swim.
"I can relate, my parents did know how and I almost drowned," Jones said.
Jones' special appearance at P.S. 125 kicks off a citywide swim safe campaign. He teamed up with swimmer turned instructor Agnes Davis, who is devoted to water safety. She says inner city children are not getting the lessons they need.
Davis says Cullen's Olympic success is changing perspective and summer safety campaigns like this can lead to saving lives.
She's brought to tears talking about the tragedy of children drowning.
Students today, made progress in less than 30 minutes.
Make a Splash kids learned how to swim with a bubble and a float on their back .This is important because if they fall in, they have a way to get air until someone can help them.
Lessons like these are being funded by the U.S. Swim Foundation Grants and Phillips 66. Their representatives watched today to see where their money goes. They also provide expenses for pool time and education. This is all a part of a life saving mission. LINK: MakeaSplash.org
