I met Leslie Paul by sheer good luck. Actually, I take that back, I met Leslie Paul because God is crazy for me and has awesome plans for me. When I nervously signed up to take a Water Safety Instructor class in the fall of 2006, it was Leslie’s be-freckled, smiling self that welcomed me. In case you aren’t familiar with all things Red Cross Aquatics, a Water Safety Instructor is a fancy-schmancy word for Swim Teacher. Now I should mention that, in 2006, I wasn’t a prime candidate to be a WSI. I could swim but my strokes were not very pretty. As in, if I was showing a student how to do the butterfly stroke, said student might freak out and think I was drowning. But Leslie didn’t seem to mind..I swear she worked extra hard with me to get me through this class {Most of my classmates were former swim team guards with stellar strokes}. She encouraged me, instilled a lot of confidence in me, and held me to good, high standards. After a couple of intense weekend classes with her, I became certified and went on to teach that very same winter and for some years after that.
On top of being an Instructor-Trainer for Red Cross, Leslie was up to something else in those days. Disturbed by drowning statistics in children, she took action and founded RAPS. Really Awesome People Swimming offers Red Cross swim lessons to disadvantaged children. In just a week format, groups of children attend RAPS to learn water safety, gain comfort in & around water, and get swimming! You may have seen RAPS mentioned on the local news during this past summer since Leslie & her staff are truly making waves…they have taught hundreds of local children since its inception. You can check out RAPS on Facebook {be sure to look through the pictures!} as well as read more about it here, here, here, and here.
RAPS is made possible by Leslie’s vision, enthusiasm, love for swimming, love for kids, and desire to see a change. I spent the last two weeks witnessing her magic. Leslie has bugged me for years to come out and teach with RAPS. I always put her off since I was instructing with MWR and didn’t want to deal with all the scheduling conflicts. When I hung up my guard suit for good at the end of July, I knew it was finally time to go teach for her and see what RAPS was all about. I was unprepared for how much I would LOVE it! I was absolutely privileged & blessed to teach alongside Leslie and the other instructors. I had a ball playing and working with these kiddo’s who don’t normally get access to swimming lessons and pools in general. I was amazed at how much we could accomplish in a week, and the confidence and skills the children were walking away with. Not only do they learn the basic strokes and swimming survival skills, but water safety too.
Marcus came along on graduation Friday to see the swim lessons and take pictures. Take a look!
Then after a week of 45 minute lessons followed by 45 minutes of free time, they graduate! Complete with medals, shirts and other goodies!
My sweet little class, minus one
Remember, learning to swim is a necessity, NOT a luxury!
No comments:
Post a Comment