Mayor Wu Announces Expansion of Swim Safe Program Through Grant Opportunity

Boston to invest $250,000 to support free swim lessons this spring and summer, with applications now open for partner organizations.

Today, Mayor Michelle Wu, the City of Boston’s Human Services Cabinet, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) announced applications are now open for the latest round of Swim Safe Boston grants to support non-profit organizations in Boston that provide free swim lessons for youth. The $250,000 in grant funding continues the City’s commitment to ensuring families have access to affordable, beginner-level swim lessons for kids. In

2024, Swim Safe provided lessons to over 6,000 youth, and since its launch under Mayor Wu in summer of 2023 has provided lessons to 8,100 kids. Swim Safe is part of Mayor Wu’s Connect, Learn, Explore: Commitment to Youth, a commitment to giving Boston youth an opportunity to explore and discover their passions. The funding to support swim instruction builds off the Mayor’s commitment to ensure all Boston youth learn to swim and can safely enjoy our City’s coastline and pools.

“Swimming is a great summertime activity in the City of Boston and a critical skill year-round.  We’re continuing our commitment to affordable swimming lessons through the Swim Safe Program, ensuring that our families have the skills they need to safely enjoy our City’s pools and coastline,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I encourage all of our aquatic partners to apply for a Swim Safe grant to continue our dedication to safe summer fun.”

Interested Swim Safe grant applicants should carefully review the application materials and fill out this application to be considered for a Swim Safe grant. The application is available through the city’s Swim Safe website: boston.gov/swim-safe. Awardees must be non-profit organizations that either operate aquatics facilities or have a partnership with an aquatics facility that is located in the City of Boston. The grant application will close at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 31, 2025. 

“This latest round of grant funding will help us ramp up availability of free lessons going into the summer months when demand is highest,” said Human Services Chief José F. Massó. “Through these lessons and the ones offered by BCYF we are making sure that a whole generation of youth are learning how to be safe around water.”

As a coastal city with numerous pools and natural bodies of water, Boston families have an array of opportunities to enjoy water recreation. Swim Safe is focused on removing barriers to water access and increasing safety among Boston residents. Nationally, fatal drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 years old and the second leading cause of injury death for children ages 5-14 (CDC). Black and Latino youth are less likely to know how to swim and are at higher risk of drowning (CDC). 

The City of Boston is seeking to remedy this disparity by investing in swim lessons, repairing the City’s public pools, and recruiting and training lifeguards to staff the city’s pools. In summer 2024, Boston Centers for Youth & Families successfully recruited 74 seasonal lifeguards, ensuring that all city pools were able to remain open and safely operated throughout the summer. The grant program announced today will be available to organizations that operate pools in Boston and have experience offering swim lesson programming to the public. 

The past fall’s grantees included the YMCA of Greater Boston and Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, among others. Other grantees included a group of Boston Public Schools, including Josiah Quincy Elementary School, the Rafael Hernandez K-8 School, and the Hurley K-8 School, all of which are offering lessons either during the school day or as part of after school programming.

“The Swim Safe Grant has allowed the Hurley School to offer free, high-quality swimming lessons to students who might not otherwise have access. Many of the swimmers in our program are new to the water and all are in the early stages of learning water safety and basic strokes,” said Emily Pierce, Executive Director of Equitable School Partnerships of Boston. “Confidence in the water should be a right not a privilege but many families struggle to find and pay for swimming lessons in the city. The Swim Safe Grant helps school-based swimming programs remove those barriers.”

“In collaboration with our dedicated aquatics partners, Boston Centers for Youth & Families is directing funding to ensure equitable access to swimming and water activities throughout the city," said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of Boston Centers for Youth & Families. “This partnership strengthens our ability to reach every neighborhood, providing free and inclusive aquatics programming that reflects the diversity of Boston's families.”

Mayor Wu is acting with urgency to repair and renovate several city-owned pools, many of which were built in the 1970s. Because of a collaboration between Boston Public Schools, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the Public Facilities Department, and the Property Management Department, investments of City funding, and improved facilities assessment, the City has projects underway at a number of City pools this winter including BCYF Clougherty Pool in Charlestown, BCYF Curtis Hall Community Center Pool in Jamaica Plain, and BCYF Draper Pool in West Roxbury. This fiscal year, Mayor Wu allocated $54.5 million in the FY25-FY29 capital plan for repairing and renovating the city's pools.

 

ABOUT THE HUMAN SERVICES CABINET

The Human Services cabinet oversees six departments that provide direct services to Boston residents: Boston Centers for Youth & Families, Boston Public Library, Age Strong Commission, Office of Youth Engagement & Advancement, Office of Returning Citizens and the Office of Veterans’ Services.  The mission of the Human Services cabinet is to provide equitable access to high quality services, resources, and opportunities so that every Boston resident - especially those with the greatest needs - has what they need to thrive. In pursuit of this mission, the departments in the Human Services Cabinet meet residents where they are - in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities - to break down barriers to critical resources.

ABOUT BOSTON CENTERS FOR YOUTH & FAMILIES

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is the City of Boston’s largest youth and human service agency. BCYF operates over 30 community centers in Boston that offer a variety of engaging and enriching programs for people of all ages created through community input and need. BCYF also oversees many citywide programs.