The city of Mount Vernon hopes to make a splash this weekend, and you’re invited.
“Make a Splash” is the name of the instructional event/street fair the city is hosting, along with 2004 U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist Maritza Correia, at the YMCA from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 26. Behind the fun is a serious message: We all need to be safe in the water this summer.
Ten people drown every day in this country. The tragedy is particularly acute in the African-American and Hispanic communities, where 60 to 70 percent of the children don’t know how to swim. For the Puerto Rican-born Correia, the first African-American woman to make a U.S. Olympic team and the first African-American female swimmer to medal (as part of the women’s 4 by 00-meter freestyle relay team in Athens), the message is personal, as it is for USA Swimming.
“Events like ‘Make a Splash: Mount Vernon’ further the primary goals of USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation, which is to grow the base of the sport and support water safety,” said Talia Mark, USA Swimming’s multicultural marketing manager.
The Mount Vernon YMCA is at 20 S. Second Ave. For more information, visit makeasplash.org
