Water Safety

According to the 2021 American Community Survey, Pine City has a poverty rate of 13.4% -about 1.5 times the rate in Minnesota as a whole {9.2%). The poverty rate for children under 18 is even higher at 25%. Within the Pine City School District, an estimated 28.4% of the 1,538 students are considered economically disadvantaged (https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/minnesota/districts/pine-city-public?school-district-102930), and 43.9% qualify for free or reduced lunch. Pine City has a strong need for low-cost and free recreation and educational opportunities for our youth. The Pine City Swimming Lesson Program has been active for decades, with the goal to teach children to enjoy the water safely while providing a fun and positive educational experience. Pine City's Westside Park offers free access to a quiet bay of Cross Lake, with a swimming beach overseen by five lifeguards during the summer from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Westside Park beach is also the site of the Pine City Swimming Lesson program, which follows the American Red Cross Learn-To-Swim protocol. Water-safety instructors take a 32-hour class (price $250). Grant funds would allow us to offer scholarships for up to 10 instructors for a total cost of $2,500. In 2022, the Pine City Swimming Lesson program served 279 youth from ages 4 to 15, over four week-long sessions based on age and experience. The cost of the program was just $25 per student per week, but we would like to reduce that to $0. Based on interest in the program, we estimate that as many as 350 students would enroll if the program was free, and so are requesting $8,750 in grant funds for the scholarships. The program is open to swimmers with disabilities. In order to increase our ability to accommodate these students, we would like to purchase a floating, all-terrain wheelchair at an estimated price of $3,000.