Water Safety for Mosques, Temples, Churches and Faith Groups

Faith and cultural communities can protect families from drowning in three practical ways: make your own gatherings near water safe, teach water safety where people already gather, and make swim lessons welcoming to families who have been left out. This page is a toolkit for mosques, temples, gurdwaras, churches, synagogues and cultural centers, with a free workshop plan you can run after a service, prayer or class.

It is written to respect every tradition. It makes no religious claims; each community knows best how to share safety with its own members.

Why faith and cultural communities matter

People listen to the places they trust. A reminder from an imam, pastor, priest, rabbi, pandit, granthi or community elder, or a talk in a community hall, can reach families that public health campaigns miss.

That matters because swimming skills are not shared equally. In a 2023 national survey, the CDC found that 40 million U.S. adults (15.4%) said they don't know how to swim (opens in a new tab), with much higher rates in some communities. Our guide to drowning disparities explains the data.

The Amin Foundation's founding family is Bangladeshi-American, from Queens. Their statement says: "Lack of water safety/swimming education is rampant in the desi community as well as in other minority communities in the United States." Our guide to water safety in South Asian communities goes deeper.

Picnics, pool parties and youth trips

Most community time near water is not "swimming time": it's a summer picnic by a lake, a retreat with a pool, a youth trip to the beach, or a family's backyard party after a celebration. These are exactly the moments when everyone assumes someone else is watching.

Before any event near water:

• Choose a lifeguarded site when you can. The National Weather Service says to swim only at a beach with lifeguards (opens in a new tab), and the CDC says to choose swimming sites with lifeguards when possible.
• Get written permission from parents for any swimming, listing the place, date and activity. New York's camp rules require this for trip swimming, and it's a good habit for any group.
• Treat everyone as a non-swimmer until you know otherwise. Keep non-swimmers in shallow water, and put properly fitted life jackets on weaker swimmers and young children in natural water, as the CDC recommends (opens in a new tab).
• Name Water Watchers in shifts. The AAP suggests handing a water watcher card (opens in a new tab) to the next adult every 15 to 20 minutes. The Water Watcher doesn't cook, serve, pray, host or chat on the phone during their shift.
• Use a buddy system and count heads often. New York camps must check swimmers at least every 15 minutes (opens in a new tab).
• Write a one-page emergency plan with the site's location for 911, who calls, who reaches or throws, and who meets responders. See how to write a water emergency action plan.
• Keep alcohol out of supervision. The CDC says do not drink alcohol while supervising children (opens in a new tab).

For a party with a pool, use our Pool party safety plan and read how to host a safe pool party.

Hosting a water safety talk

You don't need an expert to start. Our free 60-minute workshop plan for faith communities covers safe picnics, retreats and trips, Water Watchers, modest swimwear options and caring for families after a loss. It includes what to say, activities and handouts.

Ideas that work well:

• Short announcements. Before summer, before a holiday when families travel, and before a youth trip.
• A talk after prayers or services, or during weekend school, using the workshop plan.
• A CPR class. In New York City, the FDNY's Mobile CPR Training Unit (opens in a new tab) can come to an organization's venue for classes of 15 to 50 people with at least 14 days' notice. The free FDNY class (opens in a new tab) teaches hands-only CPR and basic AED use, and is not a certification course.
• Free online learning. The Red Cross offers a free online course (opens in a new tab), Becoming an Ambassador for Water Safety, for people who want to teach others.
• A pledge. Invite families to sign a water safety pledge together.

Our guide to hosting a water safety workshop walks through planning, inviting speakers and follow-up.

Modesty-friendly swim options

For some families, the barrier to swim lessons isn't interest. It's what people wear, and who is there.

Writing for the American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatrician Anisa Ibrahim, MD, FAAP, describes how many families from religions that require modest clothing (opens in a new tab) see swim attire as a barrier. She describes a 2006 pilot in the Seattle area that created women-only swim sessions, with female lifeguards and window shades. It was so popular that sessions were overcrowded and often sold out, and it led to several pools offering a weekly women's swim hour. (Her article reflects her views, not necessarily the AAP's.)

She also encourages parents to know that they can ask programs to accommodate modest clothing, for example long-sleeved swimwear or leggings under shorts, and that many families don't realize they can ask.

Your community can help by:

• asking local pools and recreation centers about women-only or family sessions, and sharing what exists;
• helping families find programs that welcome modest swimwear;
• considering whether your own facility or a partner's pool could host private sessions with qualified instructors and lifeguards.

See swimming with modesty for swimwear options and how to ask for accommodations.

Supporting families after a loss

A drowning shatters a family and a whole community. Faith leaders and community members are often the first people a family turns to.

• Show up with practical help: meals, rides, childcare, help with calls and paperwork.
• Remember brothers and sisters, whose grief can be overlooked while attention goes to the parents. See losing a sibling.
• Keep checking in after the first weeks, and on anniversaries.
• Know where to refer. Our guide to grief support resources lists groups and counselors, including faith-based and culturally matched options.

What you can do today

• Look at your community's calendar for the next six months and mark every event near water.
• Choose one person to own water safety for those events.
• Book a date for a water safety talk using the workshop plan.
• Ask a local pool about women-only or family swim times, and share the answer with your community.
• Print Water Watcher cards for your next picnic or trip.