well the pool has been the place to be this summer for kids and adults as the region experienced some of the warmest days on record but all that extra swim time can increase the risk for drowning one of the leading causes of death among young children and teenagers in Patterson one group is making it their mission to teach kids swim safety early in life Raven Santana visited the class to see how a few simple lessons can be just as valuable as a life jacket nothing says summer like a fun day at the pool but even the strongest swimmers can find themselves in trouble and according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention those between the ages of zero and four are especially at risk which is why more than 100 kids here at the Boys and Girls Club of Patterson are participating in the exact foundation's Zach Camp the leading cause of unintentional death for children ages zero to four is drowning and for children ages 1 to 14 the it's the second leading cause of death and so for black children they drown at a rate that's four times the rate of their white counterparts 64 percent of black children do not know how to swim Matthew Barnes is the program director of Zac Camp named in honor of six-year-old Zachary Archer cone who drowned in Connecticut in 2007. it's designed to teach children ages five to nine critical tools to ensure safe swimming the Zac Camp is a partner ship with the Boys and Girls Clubs Of America and we travel around the country putting on camps in communities where the risk is particularly high and so it's a four day camp and the children are introduced to water safety principals Through Time In The Water time in the classroom with a special curriculum that we've developed as well as interaction with First Responders who are reinforcing these messages of safety broader than just drowning when it's our turn we jump we we stand straight and then and then we get back up and then we do like we we lay out we lay an hour back and in addition to swimming instruction staff I spoke with here say participants also get to learn survival skills in case they or someone they know is faced with an emergency in the water so usually what we do is teaching like let's say did you see a friend that is drowning the first thing you're going to do is call the Lifeguard as soon as you holy lifeguard point to where is the key surrounding and after that wait for your lifeguard to execute where you got to execute in case that you don't see a lifeguard and you have a robe or you have a pole or you have anything you can reach to that victim or your friend or something of a relative and how to position yourself on the deck to like that you can help and that encouragement has transitioned into confidence for new swimmers I spoke with so the first time I was here I was scared to go to the deep but I did my best you teach your best and then what happened when you tried what happened I tried and tried until I got it honestly I'm glad I'm thankful that they do offer this because as a parent you know I wanted my kids to know how to swim financially I don't have it financially it's hard so for them to come to the Boys and Girls Club and they offer this program it's a bonus for me because if I didn't have this program who's to know who to say what can happen you know learning how to swim equals skills for life right and when a child learns how to swim they don't forget so whether they are 5 10 15 50 they will maintain those skills with them they'll teach their family they'll teach their friends they'll encourage them the Zac program's next location will be at the Boys and Girls Club of Camden next week staff says the best way to prevent drowning is to learn basic swimming skills wear a life jacket if needed and never swim alone for NJ Spotlight news I'm Raven Santana [Music]