Pottstown YMCA Promotes Water Safety for Children

Alright, welcome back into Philadelphia Live and sorry about that audio issue, but we're bringing Amy back in and she's going to talk to us more about this partnership that the YMCA over in Pottstown has with the school district. So Amy, sorry about that. So if you could talk once again, though, a little bit about the initiative, the partnership that you guys have and the importance of having this partnership. Sure thing. So again, we partnered with the Pottstown School District, closest to our Pottstown YMCA, in order to bring water safety and swim instruction to the third graders within the community of Pottstown. All kids that are in third grade at any one of the Pottstown school district schools will come over to the YMCA. They'll receive instruction both on land and in the water, and they will learn some basic life-saving skills and water safety to get them comfortable in the water themselves, but also comfortable in the event of seeing a friend in distress, seeing maybe an unsafe condition in a pool or in a creek or a stream, And we'll know how to call for help and get assistance in those circumstances. Very good. And I remember you were mentioning that we're talking about third graders here. Why is it so important to teach them these skills so early on in their life? Honestly, it's better to start swimming or start teaching to swim. Younger is always better. Third grade is ideal because kids are learning how to control their bodies, what the different movements mean, and how to propel themselves forward. They're also understanding that it's not safe to go in a pool by yourself, that it's not safe to go swimming when you don't have an adult present. And if you start to communicate those messages with kids on a much younger age, they don't necessarily understand those unsafe situations that they may find themselves in. And one of the things I was bringing up is, of course, when growing up, I mean, we never had like this cool partnership between, you know, my local YMCA and also my school district. What made both groups come together and say, you know what, I think we should partner up and do something like this? Really, there's a need for it. I mean, both the YMCA and the Pottstown School District realized that there was a need to bring water safety to the community within Pottstown. And both organizations worked together to make sure that we were able to deliver this service back to the kids within the community. Very good. We're so excited about this partnership. This is the fourth year that we've done it, and we will continue to do so. Nice. I mean, with it being, you know, you've done this in previous years, I mean, what's been the general feedback, especially from parents? Parents are excited. Everybody's happy. The kids love it. The administrators are happy. So this seems like a win-win all around for the kids, for the families, for the YMCA, for the parents. And we're just really happy that we're able to partner with Pottstown School District to bring this to the community. Last thing I'll ask you is, of course, we're talking about a partnership that you guys have with the school district. But beyond that, how can also people get involved, say, you know, if they're not a part of your certain school district or, you know, that want to get involved and sign up? Because I know you guys have other, you know, safety courses that you do in general. So the Pottstown Y is just one of our 15 YMCA locations. We have 15 branch locations, all of which have swimming pools, all of which teach swim lessons. Many have swim teams, offer safety around water programs, which is what we're doing at Pottstown. We also offer lifeguarding certifications. So if you're looking to be safer or to learn to swim, then the Y is the place to be. Perfect. Amy, I'll ask you, is there anything else that you would like to mention that you feel is important for our audience that I didn't ask? I would like to just mention that our next session of lessons starts the week of November 2nd. We are currently enrolling. A lot of people think about swimming as they're getting ready for summer, but really year-round is when you should be doing it. You can't just develop the skills overnight. So leading up to summer is a really, really important time, and usually not at the top of people's minds. Amy, thank you so much. Truly appreciate you joining us today. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Have a great Sunday. Thank you. You too.