On a hot summer day in Bethesda, splashes of water and echoing cheers can be heard from Lindsay’s backyard pool.
Last June, the rising high school junior partnered up with Washington Jesuit Academy (WJA) to start up the WJA Swim Club. The free five-week long program teaches 12 kids the basics of swimming, according to the program website.
“I wanted to teach these kids how to swim and feel more comfortable in the water because they didn’t know how to swim before,” Lindsay told MyMCM.
According to the USA Swimming Foundation, 79% of kids in families with household income less than $50,000 have little to no swimming ability.
WJA student Kaleb said he joined the program because he has always wanted to learn how to swim. “I’m going to my home country, which is Malta, soon,” Kaleb told MyMCM. “So I really want to know how to swim so I can actually swim on the island for once.”
Lindsay hopes to host the program next year with the same number of students. “I’m proud of how easily the program came together,” said Lindsay. “And how willing the kids were to try out something that might have been scary at first.”
students cooling off at the final swimming lesson at WJA Swim Club @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/XUDoN6Rj3A
— Ashley (@_ashleyankapong) July 12, 2022
