We’re continuing our spotlights of our 2024 scholarship winners. You can read our other spotlight posts here, here, and here.
Today’s spotlight is on Josephine Gardiner, whose aim is to provide free swim lessons to underprivileged and underserved children. Josephine grew up swimming and on swim teams, and feels very comfortable in and around the water. As she watched her classmates and others swim, she realized that not everyone was as confident in water as she was.
Thus, her project, “Pool Panthers” was born. Josephine’s overall goal was to “improve water safety and wellbeing for youth and teens in under-resourced communities.” To achieve this goal, she plans to teaching basic floating and swimming skills, teaching children how to use swim equipment, helping children understand water safety skills, educating parents and guardians how to be effective water watchers, and promoting a fun water environment while also encouraging children to love water while being safe in it.
Josephine planned to hold lessons at low-income housing complexes, alleviating the problem of how children would travel to their swim lessons. She used Red Cross trained volunteer instructors and life guards, and would hold multiple lessons at the same location so as to reach as many kids as possible. She also made sure to cater to all skills and comfort levels.
By providing these free lessons, Josephine has been able to promote a safe relationship with water while still allowing for children to have fun and get use out of their community pools.
You can find her on Instagram @poolpanthersswim
Great work, Josephine!
