Door-to-door program promotes water safety

Southwest Ambulance employees, Glendale council members,lifeguards, firefighters and city staff hit the pavement lastFriday to spread the word on water safety and free swimlessons.

Walking door-to-door, the group visited homes near Rose LaneAquatics Center in Glendale to distribute drowning prevention tipsand to provide information on free and reduced swim lessonsavailable at Glendale pools through funding provided by theSouthwest Ambulance Pool Pack Swim Lesson Program.

This year, Southwest Ambulance donated $5,000 to Glendale.

Developed in 2002, Pool Pack works in partnership with communitiesto provide families with free or reduced-cost swim lessons andcomplements the prevention programs offered through municipal firedepartments.

Individual requests for assistance and swim lesson registrationsare handled directly by community parks and recreation departments.Each program is independently managed, offering varying levels ofsponsorships for swim lessons.

Since the program’s inception, Southwest Ambulance has donated morethan $250,000 to local aquatics programs and Parks and Recreationdepartments, providing free or reduced cost swim lessons to Valleyfamilies. This year, eight communities in Maricopa and Pinalcounties received funding from Southwest Ambulance’s Pool PackProgram.