Making
a Difference: A Splashing Success
By
Columnist-in-Chief Eve Brown-Waite
June 27, 2001
What
do you get if you put 130 kids and 70 volunteers in the
pool of the Greenfield YMCA for a week? You get a lot of
splashing and you get "Splash," the YMCA's
annual water safety program. You also get a win/win
situation for all involved.
Both
of my kids participated in this week-long program. It
was hectic picking up one child from school at the exact
same time that the other one was supposed to be in the
pool. But the obstacles we parents faced was nothing
compared to the logistics of getting the kids — some
as young as three years old — into bathing suits,
through the locker room, into the pool and back out
again. And the Splash staff and volunteers did it
swimmingly, without mishap or whining (and the kids
didn't whine either).
We
want to thank the folks at the Y — and especially
Betty Miles, the Splash Coordinator — for offering
this excellent educational program designed to make
summer safer for our kids. Splash introduces kids to the
basics of swimming and emphasizes water safety. And at
only $5 per child, it's got to be the best deal in town.
We also want to thank the many volunteers who made this
program happen. In fact, Splash, which the Y has been
offering annually since 1987, is organized largely
through volunteer effort. Over 70 volunteers — from 10
year olds who helped shepherd kids through the locker
rooms to senior citizens who volunteered to teach —
worked hard to make this week a success.
"I
can't say enough about the volunteers," Betty told
me enthusiastically. "They were wonderful."
"I
think the volunteers got as much out of the program as
the children did," said the mother of one teenage
volunteer.
Judging
from the wide smiles on wet faces — young and old —
Splash was a smashing success.
(Back
to Making a Difference)
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