Swim throughout the year!

The Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida and the Track Shack Foundation partnered to offer swim scholarships to the Lucky Fin Swim School providing nearly 400 hours of lessons in 2010-2011 to children with Down Syndrome.

Due to the outstanding success of our fundraising efforts, The Foundation has expanded our Swim Scholarship to include any swim provider of your choice. If you choose to use a provider other than Lucky Fin you will need to include the lesson type, frequency, location, contact information, cost and duration of the course. You may use the application provided below for either option.

This fall Lucky Fin will be returning to Winter Park for their swim lessons. Families will have the option to choose between Private ($225) and Semi-Private ($160) lessons. Each lesson will last approximately 30 minutes and will require an evaluation prior to beginning the season. If you register through the Foundation website, you will receive a discounted rate for your evaluation of $5 (the cost to non-Foundation members is $25). You may select the type of lesson you prefer, however, the lesson type will ultimately depend upon the evaluation to ensure your child is getting the very best instruction method for their success.

Scholarships for either program will be accepted until August 30, 2011.

The schedule for Lucky Fin Fall 2011:

Fall Session Evaluation dates:

August 27, 28

Fall Session class dates:

Sept 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25

Makeup dates for weather - Oct 1, 2

(application is below)

Certified Adaptive Aquatics swim instructor and Foundation member, Sandi Ebben, has created the Lucky Fin Swim School to help swimmers of varying ages and abilities develop their water safety and swimming skills based upon American Red Cross standards. Lucky Fin instructors are positive, encouraging and patient - they know we are all unique and learn at different speeds.

What Parents Are Saying....

Our daughter participated in the "Lucky Fin Swim" program over the summer and this has given her much more confidence in the water. Thanks to the competence and patience of the instructors our daughter benefited tremendously from the physical activity and the strengthening of her overall muscle tone. I think that opportunities to move and learn specific athletic skills in a fun way such as this swimming class are a perfect addition to the regular therapy that children with Down Syndrome already receive on a regular basis. Moreover they are fun and offer them a chance to socialize with other children, especially if these opportunities are offered also to typical friends.

Thank you so much for these wonderful programs and I am looking forward to engaging her in more activities and similar programs in the future.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Our daughter was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship for swim lessons through DSFF this past summer for which my husband and I are extremely thankful. Most of the lessons we researched were out of our budget. Janelle and Sandi were our instructors and they did a fantastic job making sure all of the children in our group lessons were comfortable and happy. Some days of course were better than others (our daughter was a little uneasy the first few weeks) but slowly she progressed and learned some great new skills. My husband and I were both welcomed to be a part of the weekly lessons as well which made her feel safe and us more confident knowing what we needed to work on at home. Just because our daughter has Down Syndrome, we do not feel that she should be any less included in typical activities children her age are involved in. Learning to swim we feel is no different, living in Florida we feel it is imperative. My husband and I now have the foundation - thanks to the lessons - to continue to expose our daughter to he water with hopes she will continue to progress and next summer be jumping off of that diving board!

Thank you again to the DSFF for all you do for our children!!

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We were very happy to receive the Down Syndrome Foundation of Florida scholarship for the Lucky Fin Swim program. Swimming is a very important skill for any child to learn, especially in Florida with all the water! When a child has Down syndrome there are added benefits for strengthening and coordination that can help the child long term. We plan on continuing our son's swim lessons (water therapy) in the future. I was very happy to see him kick and climb successfully out of the pool.

It was very helpful to have the semi-private lesson for our son, since it was challenging to get him to accept the water (especially if it was cold). The instructors were really helpful taking over with him when needed. Janelle and Sandi are fantastic instructors, and have a gentle approach which both my son and I appreciated! Thank you once again for the scholarship!

From the Founder of Lucky Fin:

"Year-round lessons and practice along with regular and supervised exposure to water and positive reinforcement are ways to help your child excel. The goal of Lucky Fin is to help all of our students become safe and excellent swimmers - maximizing their natural capabilities in a fun and nurturing environment" says local DS mom/advocate and Master Teacher of Adaptive Aquatics, Sandi Ebben.

Lucky Fin will encourage your child to excel at his or her own comfortable rate. Enjoyment is essential to learning, especially for young children. So, an environment is created that is active, stimulating, play oriented, and safe. The emphasis is on the development of a warm and trusting relationship between parents, children, and your Lucky Fin swim instructor.

Aquatic exercise has been shown to benefit the differently-abled in many ways:

- Increased spacial awareness and coordination

- Strengthening and toning of muscles

- Improved flexibility and range of motion

- Water buoyancy gives freedom from gravity which removes stress from joints and pressure points
- Provides an equalizer with social peers

Swim Scholarship Application

Scholarship applications will be accepted until August 30, 2011. You may use this application to apply for the Lucky Fin program or a program of your choice. You will receive a confirmation letter from The Foundation by September 1 with your scholarship amount and instructions on how to proceed to schedule your evaluation session and swim lessons (if you use Lucky Fin). If your choice is to use a swim program other than Lucky Fin, you must already be signed up for the program to process your request / payment. With both options, payment will be made directly to the swim school provider once you have completed the evaluation and confirmed your lesson time or confirmed your participation in a program.

Parent Information
First Name: *
Last Name: *
Address Street 1: *
Address Street 2:
City: *
Zip Code: *	(5 digits)
State:
Applicant Information
First Name: *
Last Name: *
Age: *
Other information:
Contact Information
Daytime Phone: *
Evening Phone:
Email: *
Program Information
What is your child's previous swim experience? *
	Lucky Fin Swim School Other If 'other' please provide the name and address of the swim school / program Name of contact at swim school: Email of contact: Phone number of contact: Dates of swim program your child will be in:
Type of lesson requested *
Scholarship Amount:	Please select scholarship amount requested:
	No Scholarship (registration only for Lucky Fin)
	$50 Scholarship
	$100 Scholarship
	Full Scholarship Amount of FULL scholarship:
	* There are a limited number of full scholarships available to families with proof of financial need. To be eligile for a FULL SCHOLARSHIP proof that your family is receiving one or more of the following will be required: -free or reduced lunch (current verification letter from your county's Food and Nutrition Services Department) - Head Start enrolled student and siblings -Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) -Food stamps (copy of current awards letter and card) -Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program (current two-sided card) -My foster child is receiving state or local funding (copy of court documentation) PLEASE NOTE WHICH DOCUMENT YOU WILL SUBMIT IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW AND EMAIL A COPY TO INFO@DSFFLORIDA.ORG OR POST IT TO PO BOX 55462, ORLANDO, FL 32853 BY SETPEMBER 23 (DOCUMENT MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE SEPT 23 TO QUALIFY FOR THE FULL SCHOLARSHIP)
Other Information
Comments:	Enter comments here!
	I am a member of DSFF

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From the Founder of Lucky Fin: