Swim Safe Program Expanded Through Grant Opportunity; Additional BCYF Pools Reopens for the Summer

Thursday, July 18, 2024 - Mayor Michelle Wu, the City of Boston’s Human Services Cabinet, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families announced applications are now open for Swim Safe Boston grants to support non-profit organizations in Boston that provide free swim lessons for youth. The $250,000 in grant funding continues the City’s commitment to ensuring families have access to affordable, beginner-level swim lessons. Swim Safe was first announced in July of 2023, and since then has funded free swim lessons for over 1,500 youth. This number is in addition to the 2000+ youth that BCYF provided swim lessons to over the same time period. 

“Swimming is not just a fun way to cool off in the summer, but also a crucial life skill, especially for residents of a coastal city like Boston,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “By investing in swim lessons and aquatics facilities, we’re working to ensure every child and adult in Boston knows how to swim and has access to a pool close to home. I’m grateful to all our community partners making this effort so successful, and I encourage organizations to apply for these Swim Safe grants to continue the momentum.”

Mayor Wu is acting with urgency to renovate several city-owned pools, many of which were built in the 1970s. Because of a collaboration between Boston Public Schools, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the Public Facilities Department, and the Property Management Department, investments of City funding, and improved facilities assessment, the City has more pools open this year than in previous summers.  In addition to the assessment, this fiscal year, Mayor Wu allocated $54.5 million in the FY25-FY29 capital plan for repairing and renovating the city's pools.The BCYF Mildred Avenue Pool in Mattapan opened last week. The BCYF Clougherty Pool will reopen by the end of July.

Interested Swim Safe grant applicants should carefully review the application materials and fill out this form to be considered for a Swim Safe grant. The application is available through the city’s Swim Safe website: boston.gov/swim-safe. Awardees must be non-profit organizations that either operate aquatics facilities or have a partnership with an aquatics facility that is located in the City of Boston. The maximum award that will be considered for this opportunity is $49,999. The grant application will close at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2024. 

Swim Safe is part of Mayor Wu’s Connect, Learn, Explore: Commitment to Youth, a commitment to giving Boston youth an opportunity to explore and discover their passions. The funding to support swim instruction builds off the Mayor’s commitment to ensure all Boston youth learn to swim and can safely enjoy our City’s coastline and pools.

“This latest release of grant funding will help us sustain the progress we’ve seen over the last year,” said José F. Massó, Chief of Human Services. “We are excited to see so much enthusiasm for swimming and we want to continue the momentum generated this summer into the school-year.”

As a coastal city with numerous pools and natural bodies of water, Boston families have an array of opportunities to enjoy water recreation. Swim Safe is focused on removing barriers to water access and increasing safety among Boston residents. Nationally, fatal drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 years old and the second leading cause of injury death for children ages 5-14 (CDC). Black and Latino youth are less likely to know how to swim and therefore are at higher risk of drowning (CDC). 

The City of Boston is seeking to remedy this disparity by investing in swim lessons, repairing the city’s public pools, and recruiting and training lifeguards to staff the city’s pools. The grant program announced today will be available to organizations that operate pools in Boston and have experience offering swim lesson programming to the public. 

The past year’s grantees included the YMCA of Greater Boston, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Dot House Health, and Bridge Boston Charter School, among others. At Bridge Boston, the school leadership partnered with the Roxbury YMCA to bring kindergarten and fourth grade students to the YMCA pool for lessons during the school day. This resulted in 19 Bridge Boston students receiving beginner lessons over the course of the 2023-2024 school year. 

"Jeremy enjoyed the swimming lesson program so much, he’s convincing me to take lessons," said Tirza Adams, the mother of Jeremy Wallace, Jr, a 6-year-old student at Bridge Boston Charter School in Roxbury. "I do not know how to swim, but he ensures me that I will be ok and that I need to relax."

“Boston Centers for Youth & Families is excited to be able to offer funding to support our aquatics partners across the city,” said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of Boston Centers for Youth & Families. “Together, we operate pools in every neighborhood and will use this partnership to offer free and accessible aquatics programming to Boston’s families.” 

ABOUT THE HUMAN SERVICES CABINET

The Human Services cabinet oversees six departments that provide direct services to Boston residents: Boston Centers for Youth & Families, Boston Public Library, Age Strong Commission, Office of Youth Engagement & Advancement, Office of Returning Citizens and the Office of Veterans’ Services.  The mission of the Human Services cabinet is to provide equitable access to high quality services, resources, and opportunities so that every Boston resident - especially those with the greatest needs - has what they need to thrive. In pursuit of this mission, the departments in the Human Services Cabinet meet residents where they are - in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities - to break down barriers to critical resources.

ABOUT BOSTON CENTERS FOR YOUTH & FAMILIES

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is the City of Boston’s largest youth and human service agency. BCYF operates 35 community centers in Boston that offer a variety of engaging and enriching programs for people of all ages created through community input and need. BCYF also oversees many citywide programs.