Anonymous Donor Helps 1500 Kids Learn To Swim

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WESTON (CBSMiami) - A hot summer afternoon in Weston last year brought the Chin family out to a community pool.

Five-year-old Emma took off her floaties and stepped into the pool with her siblings, happy to enjoy the water.

But moments later, without the other kids noticing, she began to sink. The 5-year-old then loses consciousness.

An excruciating 2 minutes and 33 seconds later her 9-year-old sister Nicole finally noticed and pulled her out.

"I saw her laying on the bottom so I jumped in there and I picked her up and then I called to my mom," recalled Nicole Chin.

Mother, Eneida Chin, rushed over, as all the kids panicked.

" I was in shock, I was in shock. I didn't know what to do at first but I said, I have to say my daughter. I have to save her I have to save her."

Using her memory of what CPR looks like in the movies she began to do CPR on Emma. Her last hope.

"There's no more time, you have to react," said Eneida.

Paramedics responded, and Emma is once again a healthy, safe little girl who likes what all kids like--to play.

Broward County SWIM Central is plenty busy this summer teaching children how to save themselves if they end up in the water.

"We're teaching them how to self-rescue, we're teaching them how to get out of the water should they find themselves in the water. Once they master that skill, then they move onto a more traditional swimming lesson," explained SWIM Central Director Jay Stanford.

And 1500 kids are learning to swim, courtesy of the Broward Sheriff's Office, who received a $70,000 donation from an anonymous donor. More than half of that was put toward the swim program.

"They've been able to give us funds to help get these kids in the water who otherwise would not have had an opportunity," said Stanford.

But Eneida reminds all parents that swim lessons are the last line of defense...and are not a replacement for something she learned, in a very difficult way.

"We have to supervise our kids, especially the little ones. Especially if they're in the pool."

To learn more about Broward County SWIM Central click here, email SWIMCentral@Broward.org, or call (954) 357-SWIM.