In honor of National Water Safety Month, the YMCA of Greater Brandywine (YGBW) recently partnered with LCH Health and Community Services to offer a bilingual water safety program for adults. The program was held in the indoor pool at the Jennersville branch, with a dry land component held in LCH's offices in West Grove.

The program was inspired by and funded by Madelyn DiBonaventura, a rising junior at Villa Maria Academy who is passionate about water safety and swims competitively. She contacted Laura Milazzo Mackiewicz, director of volunteer and civic engagement, with her idea, and YGBW staff members brought it to fruition.

The donations raised by DiBonaventura were used to expand the YGBW's Safety Around Water program to adults. The program, which formerly only served children, teaches basic, life-saving water safety skills. It is free to participants as it is funded by donations to the organization's annual campaign.

With DiBonaventura's pledge of $1,000 to cover the cost of the program, YGBW partnered with the pediatric office of LCH Health and Community Services, a federally qualified health center, to connect with parents who were interested in the program. On behalf of the Y, LCH program coordinator Monica Mata-Lopez recruited 20 patients to participate.

The program included a water safety information session at LCH's offices with instruction offered in both English and Spanish. Participants then traveled to the Jennersville YMCA for instruction in the pool. The program addressed basic swimming and survival skills to help people keep themselves and their families safe in and around water.

YGBW's annual campaign is underway. All donations benefit the Chester County community, enabling the Y to grant need-based scholarships for services like swim lessons, child care, and summer camp. Last year, YGBW granted $2.2 million in financial assistance to more than 11,000 members of the community through donations. To donate to the campaign, visit https://ymcagbw.org/donatenow.

To learn more about water safety, visit https://ymcagbw.org/safety-around-water.

More information about LCH Health and Community Services is available at https://lchcommunityhealth.org/about-us/.