Stew Leonard Jr. advocates for water safety for kids after losing son in drowning incident
Stew Leonard Jr., CEO of the grocery chain, lost his son in a drowning incident in 1989, which inspired him to open a swim school in Norwalk, Connecticut, to protect other kids.
Stew Leonard Jr. is fighting to decrease child drowning incidents decades after the death of his own toddler son.
Leonard Jr., president and CEO of the Stew Leonard's supermarket chain based in Connecticut and New York, and his wife Kim Leonard lost their young son Stew Leonard III in 1989.
The boy, at just 21 months old, was found face down in a pool with a number of adults present.
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"We didn't realize when the springtime comes, and they're around two years old, they're like Spiderman. They're running all over. You can't keep track of them," Leonard Jr. told FOX Business in an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
Leonard Jr. has been preaching to moms, dads and grandparents for more than 30 years to pay attention to water safety for children.
"Put your cellphones down. You are the lifeguard. Watch those kids. Don't let them out of your sight when you're around the water," he said.
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Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, according to the CDC.
Leonard Jr. took his family's tragedy and turned it into the act of spreading awareness by teaching children to swim and protecting other boys and girls from a similar misfortune.
Last year, he made major waves by opening up Stewie the Duck Swim School in Norwalk, Connecticut, with a mission to "save a life one lesson at a time."
The school is right across from his flagship grocery market, the Stew Leonard's farm fresh food store.
Children ages 1 through 4 who take formal swimming lessons have an 88% lower risk of drowning, according to a National Institutes of Health study.
The learn-to-swim facility serves children in the area by providing lessons while incorporating fun for children ages 6 months old to age 8 and above.
"We're teaching 1,000 kids a week. We're giving 1,000 lessons every week," said Leonard Jr.
He said the school has already taught a quarter of a million young kids how to swim.
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"I just saw a lady almost in tears down here. She said, 'My kids didn't even want to come in. The water was so scary and everything.' And now [her son] loves it. He’s learning to swim right now, and they're thanking me."
Leonard Jr. said he is truly the grateful one, as the fees from the lessons go into the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation.
The nonprofit distributes funds to provide free lessons to children living in underserved communities.
"We’re turning any profits we have [into a] free lesson," he said.
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Stewie the Duck Swim School has raised over $6 million, providing 250,000 swim lessons while partnering with YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, community centers and other youth-serving organizations, the company said.
"It’s like Robin Hood. We have parents coming in who can afford to spend the money to teach the kids how to swim. We take all the profits that we get from the swim school right here and that goes into our school under the third Water Safety Foundation," Leonard Jr. said.
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Leonard Jr. said he has plans to open a second Stewie the Duck Swim School location in Clifton, New Jersey, in the near future.