From Ripples to Waves: How Your Support Helped 3,200 New Swimmers — and Why This Work Matters More Than Ever

Across the country this year, something powerful happened in pools, swim schools, and community centers. Because of people like you, more than 3,200 Black children, parents, grandparents, and caregivers were able to learn lifesaving beginner swim skills through Outdoor Afro’s Making Waves program.

Each of those 3,200 swimmers carries a story — a before and after. A moment of hesitation turning into a smile. A bit of fear turning into a breath of courage. A first float. A first kick.

This isn’t accidental, it’s the result of a clear mission: helping Black families not only learn to swim, but reclaim and strengthen their relationship with water — a relationship that has been historically disrupted.

 

Why Making Waves Exists

Swimming isn’t just a life-saving skill, it’s a nature-connecting one. Yet the racial disparities in access and safety are stark.

According to the CDC, Black youth ages 10 to 14 drown in swimming pools at more than 8 times the rate of their white peers. This isn’t due to a lack of interest — but a legacy of exclusion from public pools, beaches, and waterfronts.

Outdoor Afro launched Making Waves in 2019 to address this public health crisis by removing a key barrier: cost.

Our mission is simple: Help every Black child and caregiver within our reach learn how to swim — safely, confidently, and joyfully.

The Making Waves program covers the cost of beginner swim lessons for children, adults, and families nationwide. Families choose the instructor or the facility that works best for them, we handle the reimbursement, they handle the joy.

This year’s challenge was our largest yet — and you helped us meet it.

We set out to fund 2,000 new swimmers in 2025. We not only met our goal, we exceeded it, funding more than 3,200 new swimmers before year’s end.

 

Meet the Swimmers You Supported

Below are just a few of the many stories shared with us this year. Each represents a family who gained safety, confidence, and connection because someone like you chose to invest in their experience.

 

Laila, 5 — “We realized she was meant to swim.”

For Laila and her mom Krystal, swim lessons opened a door to something unexpected:

“I’m so glad that we received a scholarship to put my daughter Laila (5yrs) in swimming. It was her first time, but soon enough, we realized that she was meant to swim! She is a natural in the water, and just seeing her blossom from this experience has been great.”

What started as a first lesson has become a passion:

“Even now, since the scholarship has ended, she still goes to swimming lessons and has promoted throughout her swim levels. She can now float unassisted, glide through the water, and is working on her backstroke.”

Thanks to the Making Waves program, Laila discovered something she truly loves and developed a skill that will stay with her for life.

Sabrina’s 3-Year-Old — “She wholeheartedly enjoyed it!”

In Minnesota, Sabrina wanted her daughter’s introduction to water to feel safe and joyful:

“I have nothing but great things to say about Outdoor Afro! They made it possible for my 3yr old to have swimming lessons, which she wholeheartedly enjoyed! Water safety is very important to me along with enjoying the water! Thank you again!

This is what it looks like when access and joy meet early. A strong start at age three can shift the trajectory of an entire family’s relationship with water.

Carolyn, 59, & Her Four Grandchildren — “After all of these years, I finally fulfilled my lifelong dream.”

Perhaps one of the most moving stories this year came from Carolyn, who decided it wasn’t too late to learn:

“After all of these years, at age 59, I finally fulfilled my lifelong dream of learning to swim.”

She didn’t stop there. She enrolled four grandchildren, ages 10, 5, and 4-year-old twins:

“The 10 year old was so fearful of the water, but after 3 sessions this summer he swims like a fish. The 5 year old is improving as a beginner and the twins ‘had fun.’ We will all take lessons again next summer so we can be safe and enjoy the water.”

This wasn’t just one person learning to swim. It was five. Five new stories, five safer swimmers, five deeper connections to water and to each other.

Family transformation — that’s the impact you helped create.

 

More Stories, More Joy, More Safety — All Made Possible by You

These three stories are only a glimpse into the families who wrote to us this year:

Parents like Marquita, who said swimming lessons helped her overcome a lifetime of anxiety around water.

“Thankfully I found Outdoor Afro and their swimming reimbursement program. This allowed me and my daughter to take lessons and me to overcome my anxiety. I feel more comfortable swimming and have even started going to local indoor pools regularly for fun and exercise.”

Adults like Aja, who shared:

“I’ve always been a lover of water and adventure — but my fear of drowning and inability to swim held me back. This scholarship from Outdoor Afro gave me the opportunity to conquer that fear and experience more of life how I’ve always wanted. Not only am I learning to swim myself, but I’m gaining skills transferable to those around me. I am beyond grateful for this scholarship and the initiative Outdoor Afro has taken to empower people.”

Teens, toddlers, parents and grandparents who discovered courage and connection in the water.

Every one of these moments was made possible because someone believed Black families deserve safe, supported, joyful access to water.

And we’re not done yet.

 

Where We’re Going Next

We surpassed our goal of funding 2,000 swimmers this year. We funded over 3,200 swim scholarships and now we’re headed for the next milestone: 5,000 swimmers.

With your support, we can get there and continue removing financial barriers to swim education for Black families across the country.

Your donation helps ensure that another child, parent, or grandparent can step into the water with confidence.

Help us reach 5,000 swimmers this year. Your support funds real families, real stories, real transformation.

Make More Stories Like These Possible — Donate Today.