Title
Authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation to accept a grant from Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation in the amount of $15,000 to provide 188 swimming lesson scholarships to St. Paul youth.
Body
WHEREAS, Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation is a leading force in the aquatics industry in providing educational resources for pool and spa safety enforcement, implementation, and prevention; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Aquatics section works towards a future where every resident is trained and equipped with life-saving swimming skills, and a water safety education; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Aquatics section has developed a community partnership with Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation and work together to spread awareness around drowning prevention, drain entrapments, and accidental deaths around water; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Aquatics section works to prioritize reaching and serving resident who identify as a young person, are BIPOC, low-income (50% AMI), have limited swimming proficiency, limited water safety knowledge and recreate in and around bodies of water; and
WHEREAS, historical and systemic institutional barriers have precluded communities of color and immigrant communities from access to pools and perpetuated a generational gap of residents who do not know how to swim or have a water safety education; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul residents have overwhelming access to bodies of water, a city that was founded on the banks of the Mississippi River, is home to 10 lakes, countless ponds, and private pools; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul Aquatics manages and operates three water parks and one guarded beach, teaches water safety education courses in the community, teaches and certifies lifeguards; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Aquatics section wants to continue to expand our past and current efforts to improve facility and water safety, working towards zero drowning deaths in the City of Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, the Departmen...
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