Freedom, Fun and Safety for all
Donation protected
Freedom, fun and safety for everyone is what we have been bringing to students and are excited to bring more with new teachers, bigger scholarship programs, and partenerships with groups who have limited positive exposure to the wonders of the water. To do this however, we need to repair and update our 50+ year old pool. Join us in bringing the miracle of swimming to everyone. Check out our story or skip to the bottom line.
Orca Swim School’s History
In 1999 Bruce and I started Orca Swim School on a whim out of the old Aqua Barn Ranch in Renton, WA. The Aqua Barn Ranch was a truly unique and quirky place that is missed by barn dancers and bunny lovers. The Ranch is now long gone but our search for pools still continues to this day. Over the years we have taught in public pools, apartment complexes, hotels, and even a pool that Bruce moved all the way from Colorado! In 2003 we started teaching adults that had a fear of water how to be free in the deep and we realized quickly that we were transforming lives. Adding the adult swim program has been the most wonderful thing we have done in our professional careers. To help adults go from fearing for their lives in the water and being embarrassed that they can not enjoy the same activity that children do with comfort and ease to enjoying complete freedom in the deep water is unlike any thing else. In order for adults to become completely free in the water we must provide them with pools that have both the shallow and deep ends, it is imperative for the transformation to happen.
The Current Pool
In 2013 we lost access to yet another pool due to building renovations. This is when Bruce and I decided that we must provide the space for learning to happen so we bought a pool. Well, we bought one of the few houses in Seattle that has a backyard pool with a shallow end and a deep end. We also bought a gigantic cover to keep the pool protected and warm in the cooler months, put in a huge heater to keep the water above 90 degrees, updated the pipes, and even installed an outdoor toilet. These were all major investments that we made and we have been welcoming and teaching students in this pool ever since. However, these improvements only scratched the surface (no pun intended) of what this 1960’s-era pool needed to get students started towards freedom in the water. It is now time to move on to the next stage of improvement which is resurfacing the pool after almost 50 years of use.
The Work
We have been taking bids to resurface the pool, bring the circulation system up to commercial code, replace the tiles and rough concrete edge, and add a grab bar in the deep end to make it easier for students to explore all areas of the pool. This renovation work will take place in early December and into January of 2017 which is our slow season. While we will save money not heating the pool at this time but it is not nearly enough to offset the cost of this mass renovation. Since we bought the pool we have been anticipating this renovation and have been putting money aside but with the paint chipping sooner than expected we can no longer put this off and we need your help to complete this project.
The Ask Bottom Line
It is very hard for us to ask for help with this renovation but we realized, after much contemplation, that this is not for our pool it is for our students. This resurfacing is for all of the adults out there who have tried to learn to swim at other pools and failed because they felt unsafe, their fear was not recognized as being valid, or the space was not even welcoming enough to even try getting into the water. This renovation is for all the students who no longer feel shame about being afraid of the water because they have overcome their fear with our amazing program and they greet the water with open arms and a smile. The resurfacing is also for children who come and learn freely in a small quiet warm place with teachers that are consistent and constantly meet their changing needs.
Thank You
We have been so grateful to every person who has learned how to swim in our pool, it is an honor and a priviledge to be part of each and every transformation. We now need your help to transform our pool so that we can continue to have a wonderful, safe space for individuals to learn. With your financial support for this resurfacing we can keep our financial focus on training new teachers, developing a new teen program that will bring swimming to local communities, and growing our "I Matter" scholarship campaign. Every time I get into the pool I think of all the people that Orca Swim School has helped and all the others that we will help in the future in our updated pool and I am grateful and inspired to keep opening the world of swimming to everyone. With your financial support we will feel even more buoyant and supported in a pool that was truly built with love and a community.
How to Give
You can give a gift right here or you can give directly using PayPal "Friends and Family" to my personel email [email redacted]
Orca Swim School’s History
In 1999 Bruce and I started Orca Swim School on a whim out of the old Aqua Barn Ranch in Renton, WA. The Aqua Barn Ranch was a truly unique and quirky place that is missed by barn dancers and bunny lovers. The Ranch is now long gone but our search for pools still continues to this day. Over the years we have taught in public pools, apartment complexes, hotels, and even a pool that Bruce moved all the way from Colorado! In 2003 we started teaching adults that had a fear of water how to be free in the deep and we realized quickly that we were transforming lives. Adding the adult swim program has been the most wonderful thing we have done in our professional careers. To help adults go from fearing for their lives in the water and being embarrassed that they can not enjoy the same activity that children do with comfort and ease to enjoying complete freedom in the deep water is unlike any thing else. In order for adults to become completely free in the water we must provide them with pools that have both the shallow and deep ends, it is imperative for the transformation to happen.
The Current Pool
In 2013 we lost access to yet another pool due to building renovations. This is when Bruce and I decided that we must provide the space for learning to happen so we bought a pool. Well, we bought one of the few houses in Seattle that has a backyard pool with a shallow end and a deep end. We also bought a gigantic cover to keep the pool protected and warm in the cooler months, put in a huge heater to keep the water above 90 degrees, updated the pipes, and even installed an outdoor toilet. These were all major investments that we made and we have been welcoming and teaching students in this pool ever since. However, these improvements only scratched the surface (no pun intended) of what this 1960’s-era pool needed to get students started towards freedom in the water. It is now time to move on to the next stage of improvement which is resurfacing the pool after almost 50 years of use.
The Work
We have been taking bids to resurface the pool, bring the circulation system up to commercial code, replace the tiles and rough concrete edge, and add a grab bar in the deep end to make it easier for students to explore all areas of the pool. This renovation work will take place in early December and into January of 2017 which is our slow season. While we will save money not heating the pool at this time but it is not nearly enough to offset the cost of this mass renovation. Since we bought the pool we have been anticipating this renovation and have been putting money aside but with the paint chipping sooner than expected we can no longer put this off and we need your help to complete this project.
The Ask Bottom Line
It is very hard for us to ask for help with this renovation but we realized, after much contemplation, that this is not for our pool it is for our students. This resurfacing is for all of the adults out there who have tried to learn to swim at other pools and failed because they felt unsafe, their fear was not recognized as being valid, or the space was not even welcoming enough to even try getting into the water. This renovation is for all the students who no longer feel shame about being afraid of the water because they have overcome their fear with our amazing program and they greet the water with open arms and a smile. The resurfacing is also for children who come and learn freely in a small quiet warm place with teachers that are consistent and constantly meet their changing needs.
Thank You
We have been so grateful to every person who has learned how to swim in our pool, it is an honor and a priviledge to be part of each and every transformation. We now need your help to transform our pool so that we can continue to have a wonderful, safe space for individuals to learn. With your financial support for this resurfacing we can keep our financial focus on training new teachers, developing a new teen program that will bring swimming to local communities, and growing our "I Matter" scholarship campaign. Every time I get into the pool I think of all the people that Orca Swim School has helped and all the others that we will help in the future in our updated pool and I am grateful and inspired to keep opening the world of swimming to everyone. With your financial support we will feel even more buoyant and supported in a pool that was truly built with love and a community.
How to Give
You can give a gift right here or you can give directly using PayPal "Friends and Family" to my personel email [email redacted]
Organizer
Cori Myka
Organizer
Seattle, WA
