Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines wants kids to be safe while having fun in the water this summer. So he’s partnering with fellow gold medalist swimmers like Cullen Jones to make it happen.

They’ve teamed up with USA Swimming and Phillips 66 to encourage parents to get children the swimming and water safety training they need through their “Make A Splash” initiative. And they say it’s never too early to start.

“The time to start swimming lessons is when they learn to walk,” Gaines told InsideSources. “That is when they need to learn to be safer in the water, to go through the process of learning.”

The CDC reports that from 2005-2014, there were an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. An additional 332 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents. And about one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger.

For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.

“Swim lessons are one of the most important ways we can help end drownings,” said Todd Conrad, associate executive director and director of Competitive Aquatics at the Upper Main Line YMCA. His organization offers swim lessons for all ages and abilities, he said.

Read the full article about the “Make A Splash” campaign by Linda Stein at InsideSources.