“Partnering with LVHN to get kids of the Lehigh Valley swimming makes so much sense,” says Brent Shriver, chair of EMAC’s board of directors. Shriver points out that nearly 200 swimmers participated in adapted lessons in the first year of funded programming at EMAC. “Swimming is an important part of a healthy and active lifestyle. Making swim lessons available to all members of our community is a proactive move to reduce drownings and increase opportunities for our youth.”
“We have a backyard pool, so it was important for Mya to overcome her fear of the water and learn how to swim,” DeLong says. “We tried another program first, and EMAC’s is much better, hands down. It’s really geared to the kids.”
The two organizations’ decision to partner was based on a shared vision to help families like DeLong’s. “The ability to swim is a lifesaving skill, and the health benefits and enjoyment of swimming can last a lifetime,” says Anne Baum, President, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. “As the region’s first and most trusted health network built just for kids, we are proud to invest in this critical skill for all children as a part of our mission to heal, comfort and care for our community.”
Also, in the first year of funded programming, more than 80 of the swimmers who enrolled did so through The Kindness Project (TKP), serving children in foster care, along with their siblings. Lessons are offered free to foster families. This aspect of the program was a life-changer for Heidi Kester, whose daughter Zubeniah, now 8, was a foster child before her family adopted her two years ago.
“It’s so important to know your kids are safe in the water,” Kester says. She notes her daughter, once shy around water, still takes lessons and now freestyle swims the length of the pool. “Foster children sometimes feel different to begin with, but when they are in this program, they are together with other kids and are just like everyone else. It’s very empowering and confidence-building.”
Because the swim program for foster families includes siblings, Zubeniah’s older sister, Annabella, was also able to take lessons. She has gone from a member of the local swim team to EMAC’s Athlete Developmental Team, which concentrates on excelling in competition. “Swim lessons weren’t on our radar back then, and we couldn’t have afforded them,” Kester says. “This has been a gift in so many ways.”
"We have seen dozens of our TKP kids learn life-long skills and build positive, trusting relationships through the free swimming lessons provided to them as a result of this unique collaboration,” says TKP founder and Executive Director Jenae Holtzhafer. “The future is a little brighter for our local foster care community thanks to the generosity of our partners."
The partnership between EMAC and LVHN has also benefited local schools. EMAC has served over 150 students in the Allentown School District through weekly lessons at Allen and Dieruff high schools, with 878 total hours of lessons provided.
As a designated partner of EMAC, LVHN assists in care coordination for EMAC adaptive swim lesson participants. LVHN facilitates educational seminars on topics like injury prevention, mental health, nutrition and access to care. The health network also provides strength and mobility program design for EMAC’s competitive swim programs and supplies sports medicine clinical personnel from Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. A joint steering committee evaluates programs and oversees implementation of the partnership.
