After losing their toddler daughter to drowning in 2025, a Newberry couple is on a mission to make life-saving swim lessons accessible to every family.
The Emily Grace Swim Foundation, founded by Jennie and Justin Gonzalez, is a scholarship-based program that provides four to six weeks of survival swim lessons to children ages 1 through 4.
The foundation aims to eliminate financial barriers that keep water training out of reach for lower-income households or families who cannot afford the high cost of specialty swim lessons.
“It was always out of our income range, too,” Jennie Gonzalez said. “That is why we can understand parents that do not put them in – because it is expensive. It is not something that is cheap.”
The nonprofit is just starting out after only being registered as a business in December, the Gonzalezes said. It received official 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in January, which allows donations to be considered tax deductions for donors.
Families who need a scholarship may fill out an application to be entered in a drawing. The winners will be announced at the end of March.
Although swim lessons can be a splurge for some households, Jennie Gonzalez said she believes it is a necessary purchase.
“Water does not discriminate. Drownings can happen to anybody, in any community,” Jennie Gonzalez said. “And that is why we believe the child deserves a chance to learn the life-saving skills, regardless of a family’s financial situation.”
The organization is partnering with PediAquatics of Alachua, a swimming school headed by swim instructor Christopher Castro, to bring its mission to life.
Following Emily’s drowning, the couple brought her twin sister, Sophia, to take swim lessons with Castro. By the end of the lessons, the 2-year-old was able to successfully float on her back, breathe underwater and confidently swim around the pool.
“We know that Sophia, God forbid if something were to ever happen, she would know how to take care of herself until help could be there,” Jennie Gonzalez said. “I could never thank him enough.”
After seeing Sophia’s progress through the lessons, the couple proposed a scholarship partnership to Castro. He gladly accepted the offer.
“I thought it was amazing that she wanted to do that,” Castro said. “I am honored to honor Emily.”
Children enrolled in Castro’s swim program attend lessons multiple times a week for four weeks or until he is confident in their abilities. Children who are not ready after the four weeks might have their time extended to six weeks.
Castro said he refuses to graduate a child from the program until he is sure they are ready. The final test in the program is for students to attempt to swim while fully clothed, to simulate a real instance where they may accidentally fall into water.
His medical background as an operating room technician makes these realistic tests nonnegotiable for him, he said.
“He cares,” Jennie Gonzalez said. “You can genuinely tell he does this not for the money, but he does it because he cares for the safety of the kids. He is so genuine.”
Castro teaches 35 students per day and maintains a wait list. He opens the pool each year in the swimming season, between April and October, to teach the Newberry community and surrounding areas.
Although the couple wishes for the foundation to eventually reach across the country, they know that Florida is an important part to start.
“This life-saving skill, it transcends beyond borders,” Justin Gonzalez said. “But Florida definitely is known for all of the bodies of water, so there is a lot greater risk for this kind of thing to happen. And, well, it does happen.”
Jennie and Justin Gonzalez also want to use the foundation to fight stigmas surrounding drowning and prevent parents from thinking it could not happen to them.
“People will always judge and point fingers at the families and the parents, but miscommunication happens between parents. Accidents happen,” Jennie Gonzalez said.
Drowning can take less than a minute and only a few inches of water to occur, according to Jennie Gonzalez.
“It can happen to anybody,” she said. “People need to really understand that.”
Despite the need for these lessons, the foundation requires help from local businesses and donors to stay afloat.
The majority of funding has come out of the couple’s own pockets so far since the organization is still so new. They have reached out to numerous businesses and looked into grants in an effort to provide more people with scholarships.
“I would like to save everybody, to be honest, but I know I cannot. I would like to save all the kids,” Jennie Gonzalez said. “Right now, we have enough for five [scholarships]. Until we can reach more.”
The foundation is partnering with Texas Roadhouse, located at 3984 SW 43rd Street in Gainesville, to hold a fundraiser on April 7. The restaurant will donate 10% of the proceeds back to the cause for any diner who brings in a flyer marked with the Emily Grace Swim Foundation.
The couple urges anyone who would like to apply for their scholarship or access the fundraiser flyer to go to the Emily Grace Swim Foundation Facebook page.