Children ages 1 through 4 who take formal swimming lessons have an 88% lower risk of drowning, according to a National Institutes of Health study.
The learn-to-swim facility serves children in the area by providing lessons while incorporating fun for children ages 6 months old to age 8 and above.
Stewie the Duck Swim School is located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Kim and Stew Leonard Jr. are pictured here with the swim school’s mascot, Stewie the Duck. “We’re teaching 1,000 kids a week. We’re giving 1,000 lessons every week,” he said. (Stew Leonard Jr. / Fox News)
“We’re teaching 1,000 kids a week. We’re giving 1,000 lessons every week,” said Leonard Jr.
He said the school has already taught a quarter of a million young kids how to swim.
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“I just saw a lady almost in tears down here. She said, ‘My kids didn’t even want to come in. The water was so scary and everything.’ And now [her son] loves it. He’s learning to swim right now, and they’re thanking me.”
Leonard Jr. said he is truly the grateful one, as the fees from the lessons go into the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation.
A quarter of a million children have learned to swim at Stewie the Duck Swim School in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Stewie the Duck Swim School / Fox News)
The nonprofit distributes funds to provide free lessons to children living in underserved communities.
“We’re turning any profits we have [into a] free lesson,” he said.
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Stewie the Duck Swim School has raised over $6 million, providing 250,000 swim lessons while partnering with YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, community centers and other youth-serving organizations, the company said.
The Leonards are committed to helping children learn water safety after suffering an enormous personal loss in their family. A second Stewie the Duck Swim School will be opening in Clifton, New Jersey. (Stew Leonard Jr. / Fox News)
“It’s like Robin Hood. We have parents coming in who can afford to spend the money to teach the kids how to swim. We take all the profits that we get from the swim school right here and that goes into our school under the third Water Safety Foundation,” Leonard Jr. said.
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Leonard Jr. said he has plans to open a second Stewie the Duck Swim School location in Clifton, New Jersey, in the near future.
