Vamos a Nadar: Let's Swim!
Teaching young children and families how to be safe around water continues to be an urgent summertime issue. Regional Parks launched Vamos a Nadar (Let’s go Swimming) in 2004 to reduce the number of drowning deaths in Sonoma County, particularly at the Russian River. Since that time, Vamos a Nadar has reached more than 2,000 young people in Sonoma County. At the Vamos sessions, children receive a free swim lesson while parents learn about the hazards presented by pools, rivers and lakes. Among other things, the classes inform parents how to evaluate conditions, emphasize the importance of observing aquatic safety rules, and provide tips for monitoring children, as well as rescue techniques for areas where lifeguards are not present.
Both the Parks Foundation and Regional Parks’ lifeguard staff strongly believe in the efficacy of Vamos a Nadar, which typically serves families with limited resources who otherwise may not be able to afford swim lessons. After each workshop, families are invited to enjoy and explore the swimming areas together. Each family also receives a coupon for additional swim lessons at partners' pools throughout Sonoma County for a reduced price of $15 (normally at least $50 per child).
For Fiscal Year 2024-25, Regional Parks has asked the Parks Foundation to raise $20,000 for Vamos a Nadar, which would offset costs for lifeguard instructional time and help underwrite discounted swim lessons at local public pools. We hope you’ll join us in support of this critical life-saving program.
Both the Parks Foundation and Regional Parks’ lifeguard staff strongly believe in the efficacy of Vamos a Nadar, which typically serves families with limited resources who otherwise may not be able to afford swim lessons. After each workshop, families are invited to enjoy and explore the swimming areas together. Each family also receives a coupon for additional swim lessons at partners' pools throughout Sonoma County for a reduced price of $15 (normally at least $50 per child).
For Fiscal Year 2024-25, Regional Parks has asked the Parks Foundation to raise $20,000 for Vamos a Nadar, which would offset costs for lifeguard instructional time and help underwrite discounted swim lessons at local public pools. We hope you’ll join us in support of this critical life-saving program.
by Kerry Benefield – March 2, 2025
Free, bilingual water safety program hits two-decade milestone in Sonoma County
Born of tragedy, Vamos a Nadar has now served 3,000 mostly Spanish-speaking kids and their parents.
Two decades ago, there was a rash of drownings in Sonoma County. Between 2000 and 2004, 14 people were reported to have drowned in the Russian River. Twelve were Latino men.
Bert Whitaker, who at the time was an aquatics specialist for Sonoma County Regional Parks but today is director of the department, said those tragedies were made even more painful because they were “largely preventable.”
In response, county officials linked up with the Red Cross and other agencies and advocates to come up with a plan that would go beyond increased signage or flyers, go beyond bilingual messaging about the unpredictability of the river waters, and go beyond urging folks to better understand water safety.
Those meetings led to Vamos A Nadar, a multisession bilingual water safety program that targets mostly Spanish-speaking kids and their parents.
“We were looking for long-term solutions, not just flyers,” said Rosiris Guerra, credited by many as the founder and head cheerleader for the Vamos A Nadar program. Guerra was the aquatics point person with the Red Cross two decades ago and calls Vamos a Nadar her “baby.”
Today, in its 20th year, county officials estimate that more than 3,000 youth have participated in the program. The free program gives kids between ages 5 and 18 a half-day of swimming instruction and families are sent away with a voucher that dramatically reduces the cost of follow-up, city-run swim lessons.
The vouchers are largely underwritten by the Sonoma County Parks Foundation, Whitaker said. “The parks foundation is really the backbone of lessons,” he said.
In the initial session of Vamos A Nadar, kids are given in-pool instruction on floating, different strokes and other safety skills taught by lifeguards.
At the same time, but with a different instructor, parents are given bilingual instruction on water awareness, lifesaving techniques with tools at hand (think sticks, coolers, pool noodles) and how to summon help in the case of an emergency.
Instruction includes how to remain vigilant in settings as disparate as a crowded public pool, a boat on a lake, a picnic on the riverside and other scenarios.
“Hopefully we are giving them … confidence that they are prepared, they have equipment in their hands and they have a strategy on how to use it so they don’t have to think about it, they have what they need,” said James Brooks, a bilingual instructor who has worked in the program almost since its inception.
Many parents who attend the class do not know how to swim themselves, he said, so giving them tools not only in water rescue, but being aware of changing conditions, panic prevention and being able to call for help are crucial. A repeated mantra is “Reach, Throw, Don’t Go.”
“We do demonstrations with parents and kids on basically how to assist someone without becoming a victim, that is a big part of the program,” Brooks said. And part of that is knowing locations, he said.
“If you are calling 911 from a cellphone, how do you describe your exact location and to be prepared to be able to do that, know the road that you are on and what is the name of the beach, are you up river or down river from a bridge or access point,” he said.
At the close of the session, families are given vouchers for city-run swim classes across the county. And that part can be key for some families, Whitaker said. Swimming and water safety are life skills, but lessons and access to pools take resources, he said.
“There is no question about it, the access to public swimming facilities and the learn-to-swim programs, there is an economic barrier to that,” he said. “You look at the cost of swim lessons in the county, it can be a significant financial barrier or the barrier is getting your kids there.” To address that, the classes are held in cities across Sonoma County. The lineup of classes on the docket this March, April and May will be hosted by municipal pools in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Windsor and Sonoma.
Vamos A Nadar is part of a larger, ongoing water safety push that includes life jacket loaner stations, River Patrol programs and a concerted push for more bilingual lifeguards.
In 2005, officials estimated that between 5% and 10% of lifeguards in the county were bilingual or had some Spanish language skills.
In a most recent check, called a point-in-time assessment because of the high rate of turnover for the posts, 10-15% of lifeguards last summer were bilingual or spoke some Spanish. The expectation is for that percentage to reach 15-20% this summer, county officials said.
The River Patrol program began in 2013, where lifeguards are tasked with handing out loaner life jackets and talking to river-goers about changing conditions. A favorite beach year after year might have dramatic changes in depth and conditions, depending on winter rains and storms, officials said. Lifeguards and river patrol members remind visitors to be ever-vigilant, Whitaker said.
Life jacket loaner stations are in place at a number of beaches, including Del Rio Woods, Healdsburg’s Veterans Memorial Beach, Steelhead, Mom’s Beach in Forestville and Sunset Beach each summer. That program runs Friday through Monday from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Guerra said that over the years part of her push was outreach — to let families know that Vamos A Nadar exists and how to take advantage of it.
She worries that the pandemic took some steam out of momentum built over time. “I think before the pandemic it had gotten a life of its own,” she said. “I remember people used to start calling me in February, March, ‘Do you have the dates? Do you have the dates?’ The pandemic kind of broke that.”
But today the coalition behind Vamos A Nadar has the dates. One session is in March, three are in April, and three more are in May in locations and pools across the county. Registration, in English and Spanish, is open on the Sonoma County Regional Parks website. There is no cost.
“It’s a program that has created a great community,” Guerra said. “Each city is donating their pool and their staff to have their program there … For me it’s truly a real coalition where we are all putting in a little bit of time and effort.”
“I am very proud of what we have accomplished and I think the program has helped a lot of families.”
You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or [email protected]. On Instagram @kerry.benefield.
Free, bilingual water safety program hits two-decade milestone in Sonoma County
Born of tragedy, Vamos a Nadar has now served 3,000 mostly Spanish-speaking kids and their parents.
Two decades ago, there was a rash of drownings in Sonoma County. Between 2000 and 2004, 14 people were reported to have drowned in the Russian River. Twelve were Latino men.
Bert Whitaker, who at the time was an aquatics specialist for Sonoma County Regional Parks but today is director of the department, said those tragedies were made even more painful because they were “largely preventable.”
In response, county officials linked up with the Red Cross and other agencies and advocates to come up with a plan that would go beyond increased signage or flyers, go beyond bilingual messaging about the unpredictability of the river waters, and go beyond urging folks to better understand water safety.
Those meetings led to Vamos A Nadar, a multisession bilingual water safety program that targets mostly Spanish-speaking kids and their parents.
“We were looking for long-term solutions, not just flyers,” said Rosiris Guerra, credited by many as the founder and head cheerleader for the Vamos A Nadar program. Guerra was the aquatics point person with the Red Cross two decades ago and calls Vamos a Nadar her “baby.”
Today, in its 20th year, county officials estimate that more than 3,000 youth have participated in the program. The free program gives kids between ages 5 and 18 a half-day of swimming instruction and families are sent away with a voucher that dramatically reduces the cost of follow-up, city-run swim lessons.
The vouchers are largely underwritten by the Sonoma County Parks Foundation, Whitaker said. “The parks foundation is really the backbone of lessons,” he said.
In the initial session of Vamos A Nadar, kids are given in-pool instruction on floating, different strokes and other safety skills taught by lifeguards.
At the same time, but with a different instructor, parents are given bilingual instruction on water awareness, lifesaving techniques with tools at hand (think sticks, coolers, pool noodles) and how to summon help in the case of an emergency.
Instruction includes how to remain vigilant in settings as disparate as a crowded public pool, a boat on a lake, a picnic on the riverside and other scenarios.
“Hopefully we are giving them … confidence that they are prepared, they have equipment in their hands and they have a strategy on how to use it so they don’t have to think about it, they have what they need,” said James Brooks, a bilingual instructor who has worked in the program almost since its inception.
Many parents who attend the class do not know how to swim themselves, he said, so giving them tools not only in water rescue, but being aware of changing conditions, panic prevention and being able to call for help are crucial. A repeated mantra is “Reach, Throw, Don’t Go.”
“We do demonstrations with parents and kids on basically how to assist someone without becoming a victim, that is a big part of the program,” Brooks said. And part of that is knowing locations, he said.
“If you are calling 911 from a cellphone, how do you describe your exact location and to be prepared to be able to do that, know the road that you are on and what is the name of the beach, are you up river or down river from a bridge or access point,” he said.
At the close of the session, families are given vouchers for city-run swim classes across the county. And that part can be key for some families, Whitaker said. Swimming and water safety are life skills, but lessons and access to pools take resources, he said.
“There is no question about it, the access to public swimming facilities and the learn-to-swim programs, there is an economic barrier to that,” he said. “You look at the cost of swim lessons in the county, it can be a significant financial barrier or the barrier is getting your kids there.” To address that, the classes are held in cities across Sonoma County. The lineup of classes on the docket this March, April and May will be hosted by municipal pools in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Windsor and Sonoma.
Vamos A Nadar is part of a larger, ongoing water safety push that includes life jacket loaner stations, River Patrol programs and a concerted push for more bilingual lifeguards.
In 2005, officials estimated that between 5% and 10% of lifeguards in the county were bilingual or had some Spanish language skills.
In a most recent check, called a point-in-time assessment because of the high rate of turnover for the posts, 10-15% of lifeguards last summer were bilingual or spoke some Spanish. The expectation is for that percentage to reach 15-20% this summer, county officials said.
The River Patrol program began in 2013, where lifeguards are tasked with handing out loaner life jackets and talking to river-goers about changing conditions. A favorite beach year after year might have dramatic changes in depth and conditions, depending on winter rains and storms, officials said. Lifeguards and river patrol members remind visitors to be ever-vigilant, Whitaker said.
Life jacket loaner stations are in place at a number of beaches, including Del Rio Woods, Healdsburg’s Veterans Memorial Beach, Steelhead, Mom’s Beach in Forestville and Sunset Beach each summer. That program runs Friday through Monday from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Guerra said that over the years part of her push was outreach — to let families know that Vamos A Nadar exists and how to take advantage of it.
She worries that the pandemic took some steam out of momentum built over time. “I think before the pandemic it had gotten a life of its own,” she said. “I remember people used to start calling me in February, March, ‘Do you have the dates? Do you have the dates?’ The pandemic kind of broke that.”
But today the coalition behind Vamos A Nadar has the dates. One session is in March, three are in April, and three more are in May in locations and pools across the county. Registration, in English and Spanish, is open on the Sonoma County Regional Parks website. There is no cost.
“It’s a program that has created a great community,” Guerra said. “Each city is donating their pool and their staff to have their program there … For me it’s truly a real coalition where we are all putting in a little bit of time and effort.”
“I am very proud of what we have accomplished and I think the program has helped a lot of families.”
You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or [email protected]. On Instagram @kerry.benefield.
