YMCA Gets Grant for Swimming Lessons

Aside from being a beneficial and therapeutic athletic activity, swimming is a genuine and joyful rite of summer. And thanks to a grant from a major corporation, more children and families will be able to swim away the summer at the YMCA of the Suncoast in and around Hernando County.

POOLCORP, a major wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and a longtime corporate partner, recently presented a check to support the YMCA of the Suncoast’s swim lesson programming for underserved communities across four branches in Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties. In addition, this funding will provide financial assistance for a lifeguard certification program and the swim instructor certification program for YMCA staff.

Locally, this grant holds great significance for children in need. “The YMCA of the Suncoast is teaming up with POOLCORP to provide scholarships for water safety lessons through the company’s support,” explained Joanna Castle, Vice President for Philanthropy at YMCA of the Suncoast. “Each year, donated funds of $18,200 per year will provide 20 Lifeguard Training Scholarships and 100 Safety Around Water (SAW) lessons for children who might not otherwise be able to afford to participate. This is the second grant award that POOLCORP has generously donated to the YMCA and is providing funding for the program for another three years.”

This funding will truly make a difference for children in this community, whose knowledge and enjoyment of aquatic sports will grow by ‘laps and bounds.’

“The funding goes toward providing free swim lessons to children to 4 of our Y’s in underserved communities throughout Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando Counties,” explained Castle. “The program is being offered at four YMCA Branch locations: Greater Ridgecrest YMCA, James P. Gills Family YMCA, Hernando County YMCA and John Geigle North Pinellas YMCA. In addition, funding will go to providing financial assistance for the lifeguard certification program or the swim instructor certification program for YMCA staff.”

In addition to giving them a chance to swim, one specially funded program enables and empowers kids to swim safer. “The YMCA of the Suncoast Safety Around Water Program consists of four lessons for 45 minutes each, during which children learn important skills in and around water,” said Castle. These include survival skills like pushing off from the bottom of the pool to resurface, safety skills like water rescue techniques and identifying a safe place to swim, and basic swim skills like floating, blowing bubbles, and beginner swim strokes.

Castle feels that the YMCA is providing a vital community service by ensuring that more kids at all income levels get a chance to swim. “By providing swim lessons to underserved children, we can address inequalities in access to essential life skills and promote water safety in our community,” she said. “Swim lessons are essential for underserved children as they not only provide a valuable life skill but also play a significant role in preventing water-related accidents. Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death among children, and providing swim lessons can help mitigate this risk, especially in communities where access to pools and natural bodies of water is limited.”

And this summer, more and more Hernando residents will be ‘getting in the swim’ of things.
“The YMCA water safety program supports summer activities in our community by providing swim lessons and water safety education to children,” said Castle. “These programs help ensure that community members can enjoy water-related activities safely, reducing the risk of water-related accidents and promoting overall wellness and instill a love of swimming.”

As the leading 4-star charity committed to strengthening the community, the Y is a cause-driven, charitable organization that stands for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. YMCA serves over 100,000 men, women, and children through eight branch locations and 60 before and after-school sites in Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. For more than 62 years, the YMCA of the Suncoast has been an integral part of the communities they serve to ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. For more information, please visit www.ymcasuncoast.org.