River Crossing YMCA Celebrates Launch of Free Safety Around Water Program in Allentown
ALLENTOWN – River Crossing YMCA hosted donors, community partners and elected representatives at Allentown’s Cedar Beach Park pool yesterday to celebrate the launch of the Y’s free Safety Around Water program for Allentown residents.
Through partnerships with the City of Allentown Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown, and the generosity of donors Ken Termini, United Way of Greater Lehigh Valley, the CAI United Fund and Step Into Swim, River Crossing YMCA is providing free swim lessons and life-saving water safety education to Allentown residents, ages three and up, at Cedar Beach Pool, Irving Pool and the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown.
“Because of the generosity of Ken Termini and our beloved partners, we are able to provide the Safety Around Water program for free in Allentown,” said Trish Feinthel, chief operations officer of River Crossing YMCA, kicking off the celebration. “The Y evaluates and identifies the swim level for all participants, from children through adults, and our well-educated staff can teach them these valuable skills so they may enjoy the water for the rest of their lives.”
Currently, there are over 180 children enrolled in the Y’s free Safety Around Water program at City of Allentown pools and 60 at the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown. The program began on June 23 and continues through the summer in two, four week sessions.
“I have been deeply inspired by the work of Rowdy Gaines and Step Into Swim™, the organization that provides swim lessons and water safety programs for children in underserved communities,” explained Ken Termini, a major donor to the free YMCA Safety Around Water program in Allentown. “Here in the Lehigh Valley we have many rivers, quarries and water features in our parks, and every year we hear about drownings. We want to make sure that kids understand how to stay safe around water, and I thought, what great partners Step Into Swim and River Crossing YMCA would be.”
Rowdy Gaines is a three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Olympic swim commentator and lead ambassador for Step Into Swim™, an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance committed to swim education across the country. Termini said he and Gaines met last summer at a charity swim event in NJ. Upon talking at the event and maintaining contact thereafter, Termini was able to establish a connection between Step Into Swim™ and River Crossing YMCA.
According to YMCA of the USA, drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death for children 1 to 4 years of age and is the second leading cause of death for children from 5 to 14 years of age. Many children in these age groups in Allentown lack access to life-saving swim lessons, which are critical to the wellbeing of the community’s children.
“This is very important to me,” shared PA State Senator Nick Miller, D-14th District, who also spoke at the event. “I learned how to swim at the YMCA, and enjoyed many summers here at Cedar Beach Pool when I was growing up. In my office, as well as at the offices of Representatives Schweyer, Schlossberg and Siegal, we want to make sure that Lehigh Valley’s city pools are fun and safe for our families to enjoy. I thank the YMCA and all the partners who came together to make this program happen.”
The event was also attended by representatives of State Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-134th District; Rep. Joshua Siegel, D-22nd District; and Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16th District.
The first session of the free Safety Around Water program for Allentown residents runs through July 18, with the second beginning July 21 and running through Aug. 15. For more information about the program or to register, please visit https://www.ymcarivercrossing.org/events/safety-around-water-free-swim-safety-lessons-cedar-beach-pool.
River Crossing YMCA (formerly YMCA of Bucks and Hunterdon Counties and Greater Valley YMCA) is a charitable, nonprofit organization committed to strengthening communities through membership and programs that foster youth development, healthy living and social responsibility for all. Annually, the Y serves over 142,000 members and participants at its 12 member branches, 13 early childhood centers, 20 summer camp locations and 37 school age child care programs. River Crossing YMCA provides over $12 million of community impact annually in the form of financial assistance to individuals and families in need and free programming for veterans, cancer survivors, older adults and more. To learn more visit ymcarivercrossing.org.
About CAI
CAI is a global services firm with over 9,000 associates worldwide and a yearly revenue of $1.3 billion+. We have over 40 years of excellence in uniting talent and technology to power the possible for our clients, colleagues, and communities. As a privately held company, we have the freedom and focus to do what’s right—whatever it takes. Our tailor-made solutions create lasting results across the public and commercial sectors, and we are trailblazers in bringing neurodiversity to the enterprise.
About the CAI United Fund
The CAI United Fund invests in family and student engagement initiatives to reduce absenteeism and improve academic outcomes within the United Way Community Schools Network, totaling over 19,000 students. Read the full press release.
Contacts: Madison Oler: Sr. PR & Communications Specialist, madison.oler@cai.io,
Derek Herman: Executive Director, Communications, derek.herman@cai.io, Laura McHugh: Chief Engagement Officer, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, lauram@unitedwayglv.org
About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and Step Into Swim™:
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.
Step Into Swim™ is an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and its foundation committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention. By investing in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programming, the Step Into Swim initiative instills confidence, empowers long-term participation in water activities, touts the positive benefits of water play, and advocates for safe practices. Since its inception in 2012, Step Into Swim has played a role in reducing drowning fatalities and has gifted swim lessons to more than 400,000 children with support from community organizations, partners, industry advocates, members, and more. For more information, visit www.StepIntoSwim.org.
Above: (L-R) Crystal Messer (VP of Operations, River Crossing YMCA Lehigh Valley Region), Ken Termini, Kate Cohen (VP of Mission Advancement, River Crossing YMCA), Sarah Hildebrandt (Legislative Asst. to State Sen. Jarrett Coleman), Trish Feinthel (COO, River Crossing YMCA), Sara Ortiz and Bryan Tatis (Constituent Services Advisor, State Rep. Joshua Siegal), Kathryn Best (Development Dir., Boys and Girls Club of Allentown), Lucinda Wright (Depty. Dir. of Parks and Rec., City of Allentown), Nancy Wilt (Chief of Staff, State Rep. Peter Schweyer), State Sen. Nick Miller. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Left: Ken Termini, donor to the Y’s free Safety Around Water program for Allentown residents, played a key role connecting the Step Into Swim organization with River Crossing YMCA. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Left: PA State Senator Nick Miller, D-14th District, thanked the YMCA and community partners for coming together to make Lehigh Valley’s pools, rivers and creeks safer for Allentown families at the celebration of the Y’s free Safety Around Water program for Allentown residents. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Left: Trish Feinthel, COO of River Crossing YMCA, remarked how working families rely on the Y to teach their children how to swim and be safe around water during the summer months at the Cedar Beach Pool’s celebration of the Y’s free Safety Around Water program in Allentown. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Above: River Crossing YMCA swim instructors Brooke Sergent and Gloria Veneziale provide support to children at Cedar Beach Pool. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Above: Children enjoy the Cedar Beach Pool on a hot summer morning as River Crossing YMCA, community partners, donors and elected officials/representatives celebrated the launch of the Y’s free Safety Around Water program for Allentown residents. (Photo courtesy of River Crossing YMCA)
Information provided to TVL by:
Michael Reisman
