NILES — With the summer months stretching ahead for area students and weather expected to heat up, many families will find ways to cool off by spending time at local lakes.

Thanks to a program put on by the YMCA of Southwest Michigan, students enrolled in a five-day swim camp will have the safety skills needed to enjoy the water and possibly help others in need.

On Monday morning, dozens of Marcellus third-grade students demonstrated those skills during a post assessment, led by YMCA instructors in the pool at the Niles facility.

Aquatic instructor Sammee Schaller said the class teaches students safety skills and gives them confidence in the water.

“This is to teach them water safety, swim lessons, how to be safe around the water, open water and in public pools,” Schaller said. “We do pre- and post-assessments with them.”

Four instructors work with the children in the pool and take a trip to a local lake to put their skills to the test. This way, Schaller said students are learning to assess conditions like the current, depth or waves that come with lake swimming.

Through the class, students will learn how to float on their back, which Schaller said can be a lifesaving tool if someone is stuck in the water for a long period of time and can allow the swimmer to catch their breath.

“Teachers tell them to put their head up, catch their breath and then start swimming,” Schaller said.

Should someone fall into the water from a boat or dock, students are taught how to properly help them by utilizing a flotation device or the “reach and assist” technique, to grab them out of the water.

“We teach them how they have to put their foot on the rope and throw it hand over hand,” Schaller said. “These instructors that we have are fabulous. They know exactly what they are doing and have been doing it for years.”

Having fun is also an emphasis during the swim camp and the students are given the opportunity to free style and play in the water.

The swim camp program started about four years ago, when Tom Schwartz, a retired Notre Dame professor and swimmer, called the YMCA with a request. He wanted to see if the organization could formulate a swim camp that would emphasize safety in the water. His request was spurred by the number of lakes around the Michiana area, that many families use to cool off during the summer months.

“For this age group, it is a skill everyone needs to have,” Schaller said. “In Marcellus, there are 36 lakes within 6 miles. That’s a lot of lakes.”

Schwartz’s request jump-started the program which now partners with local schools in the Niles, Cassopolis and Marcellus school districts to assure that students in elementary school go through the program.

The Marcellus community raises money to support the program, which costs about $150 per child. In Niles, the program is free to children through a barter program with the school district, because the district allows the YMCA to use the schools’ gyms for sports programs.

Schaller said the YMCA hopes to eventually offer the swim program to other area schools, including the Brandywine and Buchanan school districts.

Schaller thanked those community partners for offering something invaluable to students.

“They are going to be at pools the rest of their lives, an ocean, lake or pool,” Schaller said. “It could save their life potentially.”

To learn more or sponsor a child, contact the YMCA at (269) 683-1552.