KP Fresno grant helps kids splash into a safe and healthy summer

Children in some of Fresno’s lowest-income and most crime-ridden neighborhoods will now have a safe place to swim and stay active this summer thanks to a $60,000 Kaiser Permanente Fresno grant, that will reopen four “learner” pools.

City of Fresno budget constraints have kept these pools closed for the past four years and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin said it would have been difficult to reopen them this summer had it not been for Kaiser Permanente Fresno.

“This could not have come at a better time,” said Swearengin, at a recent press conference announcing the Kaiser Permanente Fresno grant. “We’re grateful for this donation and we have a special appreciation for Kaiser Permanente stepping up and investing in our community.”

Standing in front of one of the empty pools at Fink-White Neighborhood Center in southwest Fresno, Kaiser Permanente Fresno Senior Vice President and Area Manager Jeff Collins joined with city officials in announcing the grant, which is aimed at keeping kids healthy by giving them access to neighborhood pools in a safe location.

“Kaiser Permanente Fresno believes in building healthy communities and this is one way we can serve the community by creating a safe place where Fresno children can be active, healthy and thrive,” he said.

With the flip of a switch, water started pouring into the empty run-down pool at Fink-White after the press conference ended. Over the next few weeks, parks maintenance workers will be working to get the pools ready for the grand opening on June 17.

The community benefit grant was provided to Fresno United Neighborhoods, a non-profit organization that will operate the summer swim program “Splash into a Safe and Healthy Summer” on behalf of the City of Fresno. The pools will be open daily from 1 to 5 p.m. The grant also provides children with free swimming lessons.

About 25,000 children are expected to benefit from the opening of the four pools. The pools are located at neighborhood parks throughout the city, where access to swimming pools and recreational areas is limited.

Fresno City Council Member Oliver Baines, whose council district includes the pool at Fink-White Neighborhood Center, said the immediate area is home to three different gangs and high-crime rates.

“As we return services to our parks it gets kids off of the streets,” Baines said. “With Kaiser coming in with this investment, it allows us to continue to offer services in these neighborhoods.”