CHALLENGE ALERT - 1/20/11. Pool Your Pennies needs your help to raise $15,000 by January 31st. Gordon Hartman and Harvey Najim have issued a $50,000 challenge grant to help us raise the funds needed to build San Antonio's only ultra-accessible swimming pool for people with disabilities. If The Arc of San Antonio and our nonprofit partners can raise $15,000 by the end of the month, Harvey and Gordon will donate $25,000 each so the pool is completed by June 1st!
Pool Your Pennies is a collaborative fundraiser to convert a former YMCA pool into an accessible aquatic center for children and adults with disabilities. The aquatic center will be located at the site of The Arc of San Antonio's northwest facility, the Pam Stephen Center at 6530 Wurzbach Rd.
How can you help?
a. Make a donation. Just click the donate button in the right-hand colukmn of this page. Optional: 25% of each doantion can be designated to one of the nonprofit partners for aquatic programs.
b. Sponsor a tile. You can sponsor a 6" x 6" tile and personalize with a name, logo or custom artwork. Your tile can also be in honor or memory of someone special in your life. Tile sponsorships are available at the $250, $500, $1,000 and $2,500 level. To sponsor a tile, go to www.arc-sa.org and click on Pool Your Pennies. Fill out the form and we will contact you about ordering your tile.
c. Create your own fundraising page. 1) Click the Get Started button and select a nonprofit team you'd like to join. 2) Create your own personal fundraising page - complete with photo and video. You can set your fundraising goal for a tile sponsorship of $250, $500, $1,000 or $2,500. 3) Email the link to all of your family and friends.
25% of donations made through a nonprofit team will support their aquatic programs. If you are a family member or friend, select the nonprofit team you would like to support - The Arc of San Antonio, CAMP, Down Syndrome Association, Eva's Heroes, Kinetic Kids, Respite Care of San Antonio or TEAMability.
Aquatic therapy and recreation provide multiple benefits for people with disabilities. Water provides buoyancy and resistance that can improve circulation, strength and endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination, range of motion and muscle tone. For children with developmental disabilities, aquatic activities also help improve sensory integration and cognitive skills. Just as important as the physical benefits, water-based activities allow children and adults with developmental disabilities to socialize and have fun with their peers.
While the renovated pool will offer accessibility and safety features needed to accommodate people with disabilities, many will only be able to enjoy the benefits of an aquatic program if the water is heated. Because cold water makes muscles retract, people with physical disabilities will experience spasticity and immobility in an unheated pool which makes the water not only uncomfortable, but dangerous. With the solar heating system, children and adults with all types of disabilities will be able to participate in water-based activities that build muscle strength, increase mobility, improve sensory integration and bring joy into their lives. Generally, solar heating systems last up to 25 years with little to no operating cost which makes this method of heating the pool the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly option. The addition of a solar heating system also means that, in San Antonio, the accessible aquatic center can be used from April to October of each year.