We believe that swimming is an essential skill that every child should learn. It’s a question of health and safety.

Forty-three percent of New York City’s children in grades K-5 are overweight, and they are not getting enough physical education at school. The childhood obesity rates in neighborhoods like Harlem are off the charts. And with African-American children being more than three times as likely to drown as Caucasians, the need for water safety education couldn’t be greater.

Asphalt Green is committed to reducing childhood obesity in New York City by getting kids more active and engaged in sports. One of the best examples of how we do this is Waterproofing, a program that not only tackles childhood obesity but also teaches kids to be safe in and around the water. Since the creation of the Waterproofing program in 1994, Asphalt Green’s professional instructors have been teaching public school children water safety and how to swim.

In January 2010, PS 125 and the Children’s Aid Society each entered into partnership with Asphalt Green to bring the Waterproofing program to their Harlem pools during the school day. This expansion enables us to serve nearly 500 more children from five different public schools. This is in addition to the more than 700 children from 11 public schools in East Harlem who already attend Waterproofing once a week at Asphalt Green.

Each spring, we celebrate the success of the Waterproofing program with The Big Swim, a free swim meet for 1,000 children and a benefit for the Waterproofing program. For more information about supporting Waterproofing, email us here.

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