Swimming Pool Association Helps Fund Swim Lessons for Students

The Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) once again has stepped up to provide generous support for our Kids SWIM initiative.

The Manasota Chapter of FSPA along with the association’s statewide Swimming Pool Education & Safety Foundation together contributed $1,625 last month to the Kids SWIM Fund at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Kids SWIM—which stands for Safe Water Instruction Matters—pays for and coordinates a week’s worth of free swimming lessons available to all second-graders in the school district. (Learn more about Kids SWIM.)

“Our local chapter of the Florida Swimming Pool Association has helped to support Kids SWIM from very early on,” said Veronica Brady, senior vice president for philanthropy at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “This generous contribution will ensure that local children can participate in potentially life-saving swimming lessons that they otherwise might go without.”

Water-Safety Training in Sarasota, Charlotte

Through Kids SWIM, Gulf Coast partners with Sarasota County Schools and several youth-serving nonprofit organizations to provide transportation, pool time, and certified instruction in basic water safety for students. Second-grade classes that participate go to a nearby pool facility for an instructional period each day for a week during the school year.

To date, thousands of Sarasota County second-graders have benefited from Kids SWIM since it launched in 2013 with the support of Gulf Coast Community Foundation donors Keith and Linda Monda. The successful initiative was expanded to Charlotte County last year with funding from another Gulf Coast donor, the Gould Family Foundation.

The Florida Swimming Pool Association’s latest contribution to Kids SWIM commemorated National Water Safety Month, which is marked each May. According to the Florida Department of Health, Florida has the second-highest drowning rate for children age 1-14.

Want to Help?

Gifts to support free swimming lessons for local students can be made online here. Donors may also send a check to Gulf Coast Community Foundation, 601 Tamiami Trail South, Venice, FL 34285.