Did you know that you could be partnering with water safety and drowning awareness advocates to provide free swim lessons?

That’s what Hartford Pool Scouts, a Virginia-based pool service franchise, did this May in honor of National Water Safety Month. They hope to provide more than 1,500 swimming lessons to children in low-income homes.

Hartford Pool Scouts partners with Hope Floats, a foundation that provides swim lesson scholarships to families who qualify under the USDA Income Eligibility guidelines.

Last year, Hartford Pool Scouts raised more than $26,000 by donating a percentage of each service stop in May. The company offers pool cleaning, maintenance, and minor repair services at residential properties.

“We take all our jobs from May 1 to May 31 and donate a dollar per job,” said Charlie Hook, owner of Hartford Pool Scouts.

This year, the company is hoping for an even bigger total once all the donations are counted.

Nationwide, Pool Scouts franchises have more than 101 such partnerships with Hope Floats, spanning 34 states. Hook said that all Pool Scouts franchises also donate a dollar per job and that other folks make additional donations on top of that.

Hook said this is his third year with the company, and he’s proud of what they are doing.

“The franchise is good about doing charitable things like this,” Hook said. “It brought a tear to my eye once I learned about where this money is going. It’s about saving kids.”

Hope Floats has been raising money for swim lessons since 2017. The funds raised go directly to funding scholarships for those who can’t afford swimming lessons for their children.

Kristin Mabrouk, the executive director of Hope Floats Foundation, said Hook’s donation of $26,000 provided swim lessons for 80 children, who received 12 swim lessons over 12 weeks — nearly 1,000 lessons in total. Hook is happy to do his part by putting money to work on something meaningful.

“I learned what it meant to me, and it was beyond anything I have thought about,” Hook said. “This is for the little ones to learn how to survive – which is different from learning the backstroke. There is a huge number of little ones who die, and addressing that needs money and attention. This is one way to do it. It starts with some people like us showing up and cleaning pools. This cause hits home with a lot of people.”

Send your email to info@ hopefloats.foundation, and get involved today.