Water Safety
Mary Thissen-Milder, Physical Education Specialist, Bette Benson, Grants Specialist Coordinator
Angie Kolonich, Science Specialist, Alina Campana, Arts Specialist, Sarah Carter, STEM Specialist, Mee Stevens, Office Administrative Specialist, Nichole Laven, Standards Implementation Manager, Mike Huberty, Math Assessment Specialist, Dawn Cameron, Education Supervisor, Angela Hochstetter, Academic Standards Supervisor, Kate Beattie, Education Supervisor
Bette Benson
$250,000 the first year is appropriated to the commissioner of education for a water safety grant program. The commissioner of education must allocate grants to eligible applicants. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations and city and county parks and recreation programs providing swimming lessons to youth. Eligible applicants are not required to partner with other entities. Grant funds must primarily be used to provide scholarships to low-income and at-risk children for swimming lessons. Up to 15 percent of the grant funds may also be used to hire water safety instructors or lifeguards or train water safety instructors or lifeguards in nationally recognized water safety practices and instruction.
Provide scholarships to low-income and at-risk children for swimming lessons. Up to 15 percent of the grant funds may also be used to hire water safety instructors or lifeguards or train water safety instructors or lifeguards in nationally recognized water safety practices and instruction.
During the grant contract period, we hosted 15 groups who came out for a Family Water Safety Workshop at the V3 Sports Center, providing this opportunity for approximately 257 individuals. V3 staff facilitated these workshops where families are able to participate and gain knowledge to be safer and more comfortable in and near water together. The workshops include water safety education?combining on-land and in-water learning, 25 participants from our July 2024 Water Safety Workshops with our West African Community Liaison signed-up and attended a 6-session swimming lesson series at V3 Sports last fall. The
cost of those swimming lessons were paid through additional grant funding that Three Rivers has through the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) funding distributed through
Hennepin County. A group of 6-7 Muslim Women regularly attended the Wednesday evening Women's Swim events at V3 and are supporting one another in their skill development, along
with getting additional support from V3 staff. We also have secured over 300 annual Swim Pond passes that have been distributed to participants of water safety workshops in the hope of getting them out to one of our Swim Ponds (an outdoor, lifeguarded, filtered/chlorinated pool with a sandy bottom) this summer. There are at least two groups we worked with that have Family Days at Elm Creek Swim Pond planned that will use their swim pond bands, with each of those groups
bringing out up to 60 people each.