They grin and giggle at each other, splashing and kicking water all over the pool deck. Little do these

kids know that such fun may one day save their lives.

Every week underprivileged elementary school students receive free water safety lessons from members of Krop's swim team and lifeguards at the MAR Jewish Community Center as part of the Learn to Swim Program.

Our goal is "to save lives," Head coach of the Krop swim team, Ann Gordon, said. Her daughter helped found the program when she was a sophomore at Krop almost three years ago. Children learn to feel comfortable in the water, kick and float in the hopes that water safety techniques will prevent youth drowning deaths that are so prevalent in a state known for its many beaches, canals and pools.

In Florida, drowning deaths for children younger than age five are double the national average and higher than any other state in the nation, according to a Department of Health website.

Parents like Wanda Rogers cannot afford to pay for expensive swim lessons but want to make sure their child is safe. "Just in case there is no one to save her," she said of her five year old, Yalliza. It's not only the children that benefit from the program. Students feel good about helping save lives.

"I like being around the water, and I can make being around the water safer for other kids. It's incredible," senior Jonathon Aranoff, a captain of the swim team said.

The Learn to Swim program was created by Julie Singleton, pool manager at the JCC, and Krop Alumna Baylee Shapiro when the center received a 5,000 dollar grant to teach Dade- county elementary school children to swim in the spring of 2002.

When the Miami-Dade police department heard about Learn to Swim they offered to recruit elementary students for the program.

Since then, Learn to Swim has taught 300 kids.