SwIM Greeley 2017

On October 28, 2017, Dolphins of the Desert co-founders Jeff Commings and Geoff Glaser returned to the University of Northern Colorado’s campus for the second edition of “Swimming With Inspiration and Motivation” in Greeley. The event featured nearly 50 children from the Greeley Transitional House and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County. As was the case in our 2016 debut, the children were selected based on their family’s socioeconomic background and were given a free introductory 40-minute swim lesson. For almost all of the students, the lesson was their first formal introduction to proper swimming techniques. The members of the UNC women’s swim team served as teachers in the water. A3 Performance and TYR donated goggles for every child to use during the lesson!

This year, Olympic triathlete Ben Kanute traveled to Greeley to speak with the children about the importance of hard work to reach goals. Kanute achieved a lifelong goal of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team in 2016, and he spoke of working hard to achieve the goal despite people saying it would not happen. After the lesson, Kanute signed autographs and posed for photos with happy children.

Though our chief goal was to make these children safe in the water, we wanted them to find the “Motivation” within themselves to reach their fullest potential in all aspects of their lives. Within the lesson, the motivation was to win a free towel if they could swim one length (25 yards) of the pool unassisted. Almost all of the children attempted the swim test. Those who were unable to complete the length unassisted got a special gift from the USA Swimming Foundation.

The swim lesson on October 28 was just the beginning. Greeley Transitional House, Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County and Dolphins of the Desert are working to raise money that will pay for more swimming lessons for the children. The promise we made to them is that we would work hard to make them water safe, and we need your help to keep that promise.

The cost to put one child into a group swimming lesson in Greeley is about $30. To make a tax-deductible donation, please send a check to:
Greeley Transitional House, Attn: Jodi Hartmann
1206 10th Street
Greeley, CO 80631

Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County, Attn: Christopher Woodward
PO BOX 812
Greeley, CO 80632

The families attending the event do not pay to participate in this event, so we rely on corporate and public donations to provide the resources needed to run the event. To learn how you can contribute to the Greeley or Tucson swim events, send an email to Geoff Glaser.

Dolphins of the Desert Swimming Academy is now a Local Partner with the USA Swimming Foundation! The USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash initiative is a national child-focused water safety campaign, which aims to provide the opportunity for every child in America to learn to swim. Through Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation partners with learn-to-swim providers and water safety advocates across the country to provide swimming lessons and educate children and their families on the importance of learning how to swim. The USA Swimming Foundation has invested millions of dollars to provide grants to qualified Local Partner learn-to-swim programs, to spread national awareness, and to bring together strategic partners to end drowning. To date, more than 5 million children have received the lifesaving gift of swim lessons through the USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner network, comprised of more than 850 qualified lesson providers across the nation. To learn more, visit www.usaswimmingfoundation.org.