“Thanks to the early generosity of industry leaders and private citizens, Step Into Swim is gaining traction," said Thomas M. Lachocki, Ph.D., and CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation. “We are pleased to take our first step by taking most of the money that has been donated and giving that to these great organizations.”
The Foundation, organizer of the Step Into Swim Campaign, has been matching donations from private companies and individuals. It says that 100 percent of every donation — plus the NSPF match — goes directly to the learn-to-swim agencies. Creating more swimmers prevents drowning, improves people’s health by opening a spectrum of aquatic activities, and creates economic growth for the health and family focused pool, spa and aquatics industry.
Corporate donations from POOLCORP, AllChem, and ARCH Chemicals, and a large private donation from Anita Sayed have been especially helpful in building the fund, and recently the NSPF Board of Directors voted to double the dollars it will match, from $25,000 to $50,000 for donations received in 2012.
“The Step Into Swim Campaign focuses on helping organizations create more swimmers where almost half of Americans fear deep water and almost three quarters reject the idea of owning a pool,” said Dr. Lachocki.
“How often does a donation create a win for society and create economic growth for our field?” Dr. Lachocki adds. “As we approach year-end, we know many organizations and individuals are deciding where to give their tax-deductible donations. We hope industry members, large and small, will unite to step up and share their resources with Step Into Swim campaign to create more swimmers.”
