Working with the Community for our Community
Being an active member of the community has always been part of the SwimWest culture. Teaming up with like-minded organizations within that community makes us stronger and widens our reach. Each group we are involved with affects our school in a positive way, impacting our staff, our swimmers and our families. Read on to learn a little bit more about each of these organizations and how together we make a difference.
The International Swim School Association (ISSA) helps improve our curriculum. They provide education, networking and more. This association delivers invaluable updates, articles, and information on researched based curriculum. It’s a group that emphasizes the benefits children get from learning to swim in more ways than just drowning prevention. The ISSA provides an international network and unlimited information. They support the latest training, marketing, and industry trends as well.
Karen Clay, SwimWest owner, has been on the board of the Safe Kids Madison Area program since 2003. The Safe Kids Program aims to prevent unintentional childhood injuries. It works to bring together individuals and organizations to make this happen. “It is great to be within a community like Safe Kids Madison that believes in safety in all areas,” said Karen. “I volunteer for a variety of safety events sponsored by them. They supply a platform for me to amplify the SwimWest safer swimming message.”
Seeing a future in which no one drowns, the Safer 3 Program’s curriculum teaches kids how to recognize drowning risks. As a member of the board, Karen says she gets lots of ideas and initiatives from the program that help keep our community safer. Promoting swim lessons to develop the skills and experience children need for safer swimming is among this organization’s many goals.
Being a part of this prestigious organization ensures our school follows a code of ethics set up by a nationally recognized institution. “There is an unlimited wealth of knowledge to pick from as well as gaining support on any topic or situation I may encounter,” Karen said. “I have served on the board twice and love to give back to the national swim school and help other swim school owners be successful.”
Working together
We look for events and organizations that promote and bring awareness to water safety. Our continued efforts to create a world without drowning and educate about water safety remains SwimWest’s core value. By working together with the above programs and organizations, we will continue to create a safer community.
