Soroptimist International and La Grande Parks and Rec team up to offer swim lessons for low-income families

LA GRANDE – Swimming, like riding a bike, may seem like a ubiquitous skill, but everyone has to start somewhere. Be it for exercise, recreation, or simply for the sake of knowing how, it’s never a bad idea to learn to swim. For kids and families in the La Grande community that want to dive in but may not have the time or resources, La Grande Parks and Recreation, with some help from Soroptimist International of La Grande, is offering swimming lessons scholarships for low-income families. 

La Grande’s youth swim program is a collaboration between La Grande Parks and Recreation’s aquatics division (which operates Veterans Memorial Pool) and various School Districts in Union County, though lessons are offered outside the schools as well. For several decades now, parks and rec has offered weekly organized swimming lessons for 3rd grade classes at various local schools, including La Grande and Imbler. These school lessons are offered during the day, with non-school group and private lessons offered at night. These lessons are generally offered over the course of two weeks, four days a week. 

Lessons, however, require qualified instructors, who in turn require pay. As not all interested families may have the means to cover costs, Parks and Rec offer swim lesson scholarships for low income families that apply. To help keep the program accessible, Soroptimist International of La Grande recently donated $1,000 dollars toward the swim scholarship fund. Seen in the image above is Mark Tanner, Aquatics & Recreation Superintendent for La Grande, receiving the big check last Thursday from Soroptimist’s Lisa Davis. 

Soroptimist has also provided funds directly to the La Grande School district to help cover swim lessons in the past according to Tanner. Donations such as this have allowed the program to grow, with Parks and Rec recently hiring 3 additional instructors for evening lessons, with the hope that some of them will also be available for the daytime school group lessons. The aquatics team further hopes to add some mother-baby classes as resources allow.

While swimming can be incredibly fun, the aquatics team at La Grande do take the lessons seriously and wants the kids to be strong swimmers. As Tanner commented on the 3rd grade classes taking lessons, “It’s one of the classes we love the most. Even if it only saves one kid, it’s worth it.”

While Tanner thinks it’s unlikely that kids will ever need to save themselves from drowning in the pool itself, there’s still plenty of popular swimming spots in the region in the form of rivers, lakes and larger ponds. Eastern Oregon may be the dry side of the state, but any body of water deep enough, cold enough, or fast enough can be dangerous if someone doesn’t have proper swimming skills. 

For those interested, the La Grande Aquatics Division just opened registration for its February swim classes. Outside of the school classes, swimming lessons can be arranged in groups of 5-6 or as private lessons with a smaller group. Registration can be completed online here. 

For anyone needing financial assistance with lessons, contact Veterans Memorial Pool at either 541-962-1347 (front desk) or 541-962-1367 (main office) to arrange a swimming scholarship. 

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