COEUR d'ALENE — Penny Messuri is ready for North Idaho's waters this summer.

The 9-year-old is participating in the Third Grade Swim program at the Kroc Center and what she has learned will serve her well.

"I love swimming,” she said Wednesday.

Now in its 13th year, the program has grown dramatically, with more than 10,000 boys and girls having gone through it.

For five days, kids in Third Grade Swim learn water safety basics. It covers the importance of life jackets, swimming with a friend and learning how to float.

Michele Ramsey, Kroc Center aquatic manager, said early swimming lessons are critical.

"If a child never has a lesson by age 9, they’re not likely to ever have a lesson," she said. "They’ll become then an adult who doesn't know how to swim."

The Avista Foundation wants to be sure kids get that first lesson.

Kristine Meyer, foundation executive director, said the foundation is offering a $36,000 matching grant to assure Third Grade Swim is available in perpetuity in the community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Idaho ranks 10th in the U.S. for fatal drowning deaths at 1.73 for every 100,000 people.

Every year in the U.S., there are over 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings, the CDC reported. Unintentional drownings are a leading cause of death for children under the age of 14.

"It’s really hard to hear that kind of thing when you live surrounded by so many beautiful rivers and lakes and streams," Meyer said.

She said swimming lessons greatly reduce drownings, which is why the foundation has funded the Third Grade Swim program since day one.

"We knew it was important to deliver this kind of education to ensure their outcomes when exposed to water would be improved," Meyer said. "Our young people deserve that investment, and we encourage others to join us."

Brianne McGuire enrolled her daughter, Jacquelyn, in Third Grade Swim.

"She's always been OK with the water, but not great," she said.

McGuire said the program has been fun and will help keep her daughter safer this summer.

"Definitely," she said.

Ramsey said there are 950 more kids involved this year than last, with close to 1,900 kids from three school districts.

The five-day program is the first introduction to swimming for many of them. Some are not comfortable putting their faces underwater, even fearful, and stay close to the pool's edge.

But by the week's end, they're confident, Ramsey said. On the last day, Freedom Friday, they're turned loose to play in the pool, practice what they learned and show their instructors what they can do.

Some who were at first fearful now hold their breath and float. Others easily dip underwater and surface again, smiling and unafraid.

"You can see the difference," Ramsey said.

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