TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Dream Center is gearing up to open a new aquatic center that they hope will save lives.
“What inspired us to start this pool was that there was a tragic situation, where two siblings wound up in a creek and they end up drowning,” Tim Newton, executive director of the Tulsa Dream Center said.
Newton said following that tragedy, the Dream Center decided they wanted to be part of the solution. Although the aquatic center is still under construction, the lessons that will eventually be offered will be free and built into the Dream Center’s after-school and summer programs.
“It was a tragic situation and while I was walking the family through this traumatic situation, we saw that the highest cause of death for young people under the age of 12 was drowning,” Newton said.
“We’re really excited to see just the impact that it’s going to make in our community.”
Besides lessons, it will also be a place people can come and exercise or just cool off at the outdoor splash pad.
“We will have some lap lanes so if people want to work out and do some laps, they can do that,” Newton said. “Hopefully we may get some Olympians that may come out of this situation, so yeah, it’s really exciting to see it all come together.”
Newton said the swimming pool will be ready this summer and they’re looking forward to opening the first week of July.
Story via KJRH. For full report, visit https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-dream-centers-new-aquatic-center-to-include-free-swim-lessons