Life Savings: Let’s teach 10,000 kids safe swimming this summer

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

More than 130,000 Kiwi children have never had a swimming lesson. Stuff and Water Safety NZ have teamed up to raise $700,000 to fund lessons for 10,000 kids, helping close the gap in water safety education across New Zealand.

More than 130,000 Kiwi kids have never had a swimming lesson. This summer Stuff and Water Safety New Zealand want to change that. Help us raise funds to get thousands of kids safe swimming lessons - and save lives. Donate here.

Seven out of 10 Kiwi kids can’t tread water. The issue is money. Many school pools have closed. The average cost of swimming lessons or beach/river water safety days is $70 per child.

The unmet need is greatest in our poorest suburbs and schools where families can’t afford private lessons, and schools can’t afford to subsidise them.

Let’s change that this summer.

The capacity is there to scale up by tens of thousands of children around the country, through trained staff, community groups and pools: all they need is money.

Stuff has dived in with a $70,000 donation - that’s 1000 kids - but we need your help to reach our target of teaching 10,000 children safe swimming (read more from our CEO and publisher Sinead Boucher on why this campaign is so close to her heart). You can donate a little or a lot - every dollar helps this important cause. Water Safety New Zealand will be seeking out the schools most in need and working with their providers to deliver the programmes.

Businesses who contribute more than $7000 (enough for 100 children to get water safety experiences) will get a shout out below. Email us at lifesavings@stuff.co.nz with your receipt to show your donation.

Water Safety New Zealand Interventions Lead Esther Hone says that while every child in Aotearoa deserves to be safe in the water, traditional lessons are expensive and inaccessible, so many of New Zealand’s school children are just not receiving any form of water survival education.

Seven out of 10 Kiwi kids can’t tread water or float for more than 3 minutes. Let's do something about it this summer.

“Every year we need help to get more funding to get to those kids currently missing out,” Hone says.

“We know it is water survival content that makes a difference for young people enjoying New Zealand’s rivers, beaches and lakes – and we know these are skills that could one day save their life. Drowning, in almost every situation, can be prevented.”

Let’s teach 10,000 kids safe swimming this summer. Donate to get young Kiwis the skills that will save lives.

The stats

130,000 Kiwi kids aged between 5 and 13 have never had access to safe swimming lessons.
$70 per child: The average cost of either eight in-pool lessons or beach/river water safety experiences
Seven out of 10 New Zealand children can’t float for more than 3 minutes

How will my donation be used?

Your funds will go towards buying in-pool lessons or beach or river water safety experiences for school children in New Zealand’s most vulnerable communities. Water Safety New Zealand is coordinating the providers for these life saving lessons and Stuff will report on where the donations have gone.

Is my donation tax-deductible?

Yes, donations to Water Safety New Zealand are tax-deductible. You will receive a confirmation email with a receipt for your records, which you can use for tax purposes.

An earlier version of this story stated that three out of 10 Kiwi kids can’t float or tread water for 3 minutes. The correct figure is seven out of 10 (Updated: 11.32am, Wednesday October 15, 2025).