ST. CLOUD, Fla. — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children aged 1 to 4.

What You Need To Know

  • According to data from the CDC, around 4,500 people drown in Florida each year — more than 900 are children

  • Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth says the county and the city of St. Cloud are paying for 150 free swim lessons this summer

  • One Central Florida mother stresses the importance of free lessons, following the 2006 drowning death of her 5-year-old son

About 4,500 people drown in Florida each year, over 900 which are children, according to the data.

To help combat the problem, Osceola County officials are offering free swim lesson this summer to help reduce the number of fatal drownings. 

Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth said the free swim lessons will be held in June and July and will benefit children for a lifetime.

“Learning how to swim, a year, 2, 3 years old, that is something you never forget," Booth said. "It’s like riding a bike. Once you learn it, you know it your whole life, you can stay safe your whole life."

The commissioner said the county is paying for 150 free swim lessons that will be held at the Chris Lyle Aquatic Center, which is located at 2991 17th St., in St. Cloud.

Nobody is happier about the free swim lessons than Arkeisha Reese, whose son drowned at age 5 because he did not know how to swim.

“He had been introduced to water, but he was not a swimmer,” said Reese.

The 5-year-old was at summer camp in 2006 when the accident happened.

Since the tragic accident, Reese has channeled her pain and set up the Team Kareem Memorial Foundation that provides free swim lessons and water safety events around central Florida.

“It’s the summer, we all want to go to the pool, the beach. And we need to be safe," Reese said. "We need to learn how to swim. I don’t want anyone’s story to be my story. Drowning is 100% preventable."

Booth said both the city of St. Cloud and the county have combined efforts and will spend around $30,000 investing in the free lessons and adverting their water safety efforts.

He is working with the various agencies to see if additional free lessons can be added since most of the free lesson spots have already been reserved.