When Tara Campbell '07 floated her idea to give swimming lessons to children she'd worked with at the Kenney Community Center, it generated a swell of enthusiasm.
The result? Free lessons for 20 students at Yates Elementary School during the month of May, courtesy of members of the Union men's and women's swimming and diving teams.
“Tara used to volunteer for one of our tutoring programs, SAIL (Studying Arithmetic in Literature) and she called with this idea,” said Angela Blair of the Kenney Center, which coordinated the project. “Since most of the kids we work with don't have access to pools, we knew this would be awesome for them. The response was tremendous.”
Campbell, a diver from Old Greenwich, Conn., and Nathan Seder '08 of Belmont, Mass., who competes in the breaststroke and the individual medley, were instrumental in making the initiative a success.
The Union swimmers and divers gave eight lessons over four weeks.
“It was great that our team could provide an opportunity for the students at Yates Elementary,” said Head Swimming Coach Scott Felix. “Many of the kids typically do not have the opportunity to participate in a program with lessons. Tara and Nate put in a great deal of time to coordinate this.”