A mountain of cash for school pools
October 13, 2009
Mary Ormsby
FEATURE WRITER
To fill a pool in Toronto, Dan Thompson will climb a mountain in Tanzania.
It's a two-pronged plan dreamed up by the former Olympic swimmer – who is also president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities – to help kids connect with city pools through a fundraising trek up Mount Kilimanjaro this week.
Not only does Thompson plan to recruit neighbourhood kids for aquatic programming at Jarvis Collegiate by the spring, the Toronto native wants to pour grant money into the Jarvis pool – which got a reprieve this summer after being slated for closure by the Toronto District School Board.
"It's crazy, it's just criminal to see these facilities potentially close for no logical reason," said Thompson, 53, who has raised $17,000 to date for the 5,895-metre summit attempt he and 19 others begin on Thursday. The father of two hopes to drum up $50,000 in donations, all of it for swim programs at Toronto schools.
"I believe every child should have the right to learn to swim and be safe in the water," continued Thompson, who is working with the United Way, Community Matters (a group serving the St. James Town neighbourhood) and city swim clubs to create activities for "in-need communities (that) do not have adequate pools and programs."
Thompson is not alone in pooling resources to keep swimming on the city's radar.
Community fitness groups are channelling money into school coffers by buying $50-an-hour permits for new aquatic clubs or existing ones choosing to relocate to cash-starved facilities.
The Runnymede Swim Club, for example, debuted Oct. 6 with 70 children splashing around in the Humberside Collegiate Pool. Dori Hawkinson, a parent and club organizer, said the response from the Runnymede elementary school students was so overwhelming, the planned one-hour swims became two-hour sessions.
"I thought it was interesting parents hadn't seen the pool before and they were happy to see their kids swim," said Hawkinson of the non-competitive program that runs once a month through April.
Adam Johnston was training adult triathletes at Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. when he read an article detailing the TDSB's decision to close 39 pools. (Many have had a temporary reprieve, with nine still destined for closure.) He lives near Humberside and wanted to help. So he quit his midtown job and started triathlete swim training at the high school his three children, all under age 5, will eventually attend.
"A whole bunch of factors came together for me to do this but there was an opportunity to help this school pool that was in some jeopardy," said the 35-year-old Johnston, co-owner of The Endurance Lab, who will train up to 24 swimmers three weekday mornings.
"Humberside is our kids' high school. I'm athletic, my wife (Taya) is athletic and if there can still be a pool for them several years from now, we'd feel great about that."
One key motivation for people was the Toronto school board's decision to drop its hourly rates, which topped out for private groups at $185 before being slashed to $50 across the board.
In the east end, Christina Kaufmann's six-year-old Family Fun Fit triathlon program nearly folded when costs to train at Birchmount Community Centre's pool "outpriced" her. She was paying $235 for 90 minutes, a period that will now cost $75 at Monarch Park where Kaufmann has applied for a long-term permit to swim twice weekly.
"I think it's great we can all support each other – the pools by TDSB having reasonable pricing and people like myself providing programming," said the 44-year-old triathlete, whose 20 members hope to be swimming at Monarch by November.
Toronto Star