SAN DIEGO — Dozens of Junior Lifeguards will take a leap off the Ocean Beach Pier on Monday, all for a good cause.
The Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego and the San Diego Junior Lifeguards are hosting the pier jump, their largest fundraiser of the year. According to organizers, 100% of the proceeds raised from the pier jump benefit the Prevent Drowning Foundation San Diego's efforts to save lives by funding swim lessons in communities and providing aquatic safety education for all.
Over the past 25 years, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Service has successfully managed over 28,000 Junior Lifeguards jumping 20-30 ft into the water off the Ocean Beach Pier.
Monday’s fundraiser is the only time jumping from the Ocean Beach pier is allowed. In addition to the Junior Lifeguards, there will be some VIP’s jumping into the water as well. One of the VIP’s will be City of San Diego Council President Sean Elo-Rivera.
CBS 8's Jake Garegnani joined dozens of Junior Lifeguards who took a leap off the Ocean Beach Pier.
The PDFSD believes drowning is preventable and it is their vision to teach every child in San Diego how to swim. The partnership between the PDFSD and the SD Junior Lifeguards has been ongoing for over 12 years, starting in 2009.
In 2019, the PDFSD collaborated with school districts to teach 5,121 underserved school children how to swim.
Children's accessibility to water in San Diego County is high, with 70 miles of coastline, 20 freshwater lakes, 7,466 public permitted bodies of water such as apartment complex swimming pools and many backyard pools.
Swimming is a life skill that is not easily accessible to all residents in the San Diego community. Formal swimming lessons reduce the likelihood of childhood drownings by 88%. Among children 1-14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 79% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have little-to-no swimming ability; this includes 64% of African American, 45% of Hispanic/Latino, and 40% of Caucasian children.
WATCH RELATED: Junior Lifeguards jumping off Ocean Beach Pier to raise money for a great cause.