Digging the Portage Pool

The city of Portage, Indiana has a problem: there is a lake in our backyard. We are located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan and enjoy access to several recreational beaches, many of which are not guarded, just a few minutes away from any home in the city.

YMCA’s are renown for aquatic programming. In over 10,000 neighborhoods nationwide, YMCA’s teach a drowning prevention program called Safety Around Water (“SAW”) to over 9 million children and offer traditional swim lessons to another 1 million people each year. The Portage YMCA leverages the strength and expertise of the national network of Y’s to deliver its own high-quality aquatics programs to the community.

 
 
The Portage YMCA has offered swim lessons for decades despite its lack of a pool. Our organization has rented time at local private pools including the high school and nearby hotels. However, each offsite location severely limits the program’s capacity by restricting hours of operation and number of participants allowed in the small pools.

Building a pool on the YMCA’s property located in the center of the city will expand the community’s ability to offer SAW, swim lessons, aquatic aerobic cardio classes, and lap-swimming. People of every age and fitness level will benefit from the pool which promises to deliver the Y’s mission to build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. #POOLFORPORTAGE