NEW BERLIN – The Preferred Foundation, a corporate giving entity of Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, is partnering with the Norwich YMCA in 2015 to provide free swim lessons to selected first graders in Chenango County. The swim sessions will begin in early May and continue through the end of the year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 10 people die every day as a result of accidental drowning. Furthermore, children under 14 years of age account for one in five drowning fatalities. However, formal swim lessons can significantly reduce the likelihood of drowning, and the mutual insurance company upholds that education is the first step in prevention.