Olympic swimmer and gold medal winner Cullen Jones visited Capitol Hill in March to advocate on behalf of inner-city children in his home state of New Jersey. He met with Congressman Albio Sires (D-N.J) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and urged legislators to provide funds for the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash campaign. Jones, who this year was honored for his accomplishments and advocacy with a Lighthouse Award from the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, learned to swim after nearly drowning at age 5.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mark Gangloff is also working to prevent drownings and promote swimming among at-risk youth. Gangloff recently launched a free swim initiative in conjunction with his Champion2Champion foundation, which provides swimming equipment to children in need.
