NEWS RELEASE
YMCA OF SIMCOE/MUSKOKA
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The YMCA has been a trusted provider of aquatics programs through the Life Saving Society for many years, helping children and youth develop confidence and essential water safety and first aid skills. The pandemic forced many local pools to close, including the YMCA, which led to children and youth missing out on essential life-saving swimming skills and a critical shortage of certified lifeguards protecting our local waters.
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities are committed to addressing this aquatics crisis and providing our communities with access to essential water safety training.
As a leader in aquatics programming, the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka was selected to receive a Community Development Grant from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. This grant has been helping to reduce financial barriers that prevent participation in aquatics programming, as well as increase program capacity through paid training support for qualified lifeguards and instructors.
“Our community is one of many in a national aquatics crisis that predates the pandemic, and the situation has only gotten worse,” says Karen Pulla, vice president of health, wellness, and community impact at the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
“The pandemic created a two-year gap in aquatics training, causing the number of swimmers requiring lessons to outweigh the number of qualified guards and instructors that can facilitate these lessons,” Pulla explained. “With reduced access to essential water safety programs, this shortage is putting children and youth in our communities at risk of increased water-related accidents that could be prevented. We need to work together to fill the gap and make our local waters safer for all."
Thanks in part to the grant from Jumpstart Charities, the YMCA is engaging youth to consider a future in lifeguarding through programs like Jr. Lifeguard Club and Life Saving Sport and working to fill the current gap by training more qualified guards and instructors in our communities, increasing access to essential life-saving aquatics programs.
“With Jumpstart’s support, we will be able to deliver aquatics programming that not only provides fun and educational activities for children and youth but will also help ensure the safety of our communities today and for years to come,” said Jill Tettmann, CEO of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka offers the Life Saving Society’s Swim for Life program at all five of its health, fitness, and aquatics centres in Collingwood, Gravenhurst, Innisfil, Midland, and Wasaga Beach.
These programs teach water safety skills that will last a lifetime and are accessible to everyone in our community through financially assisted memberships, thanks to generous donors and partners. To learn more about the YMCA’s aquatics programs, visit their website here. To help provide swimming lessons to children in your community, go to GiveToTheY.ca or contact the YMCA at [email protected].
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