Corning, N.Y. (WENY) -- A week-long program is coming to the Corning Family YMCA, offering free basic water safety skills to members of the community.  

Aquatics Director Denise Hill says it is not required to be a YMCA member to participate, and registration begins April 17.  

“This event is really to make parents, kids, everybody kind of aware of water safety and how to be safe around the water, depending on where you're at.”  

The program focuses on prevention and water safety, so that children can be more conscience on what to do when coming across a situation near water.  

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is a leading cause of death for children, and in the United States alone, children ages 1-4 die from drowning at a higher rate than any other cause of death. Hill says this is a way for parents to prevent the worst case scenario.  

“If you accidentally fall in water, how do you need to react? How do you get closest [to] an exit for the kids? How to hold their breath correctly so that they're not getting water up their nose and things like that. So, as they come into the Y, we have numerous sessions that are going to be done and they're broken into age groups so that we can focus on that age group skills more effectively.”  

The program runs from April 22nd to the 26th, and class runs for 30 minutes for kids ages 3 and up. To register, visit the Corning Family YMCA website here.