Donate now and help us bring the pool back to Winooski! Our fundraising committee is made up of citizen volunteers. Every dollar that we receive goes directly towards the design and construction of this new public pool. We are doing this because we love Winooski, and we believe the children of our little city deserve every opportunity that we can give them. Thank you for helping make Winooski a safer, healthier, more connected place!
The Kenneth Myers Memorial Pool opened in 1972 in the small city of Winooski, Vermont. It served the community as an important recreational asset and point of pride for 44 years before closing in 2016. The old pool was an important venue for people to meet and engage with their neighbors from different backgrounds and cultures. The loss of the pool galvanized Winooski’s citizens to demand a replacement. The voters have approved a bond to rebuild the pool, but the final form the new pool takes depends on our fundraising efforts (and your generosity!) Funding from the Myers Foundation will help to ensure that the community’s complete vision for the pool is realized. This includes the slide, the outdoor shade structure, and other amenities, which might otherwise be cut from the project. With your help, the pool will once again provide a place for the youth of Winooski to gather, socialize, and recreate in a safe, supervised environment.
This project involves demolition of the existing pool, and construction of two new pools on the same site. The 25-yard, 6-lane competition pool will serve the needs of the general public, as well as the beloved (and currently homeless!) swim team. The family pool includes children’s play features (sprays and showers) and a 16-foot high, looping slide. In addition, the sloped “zero-entry” feature of this pool makes it accessible to children, beginning swimmers, the elderly, and those of varied abilities in general. Finally, a major renovation and addition to the existing pool house will provide improved accessibility to the entire facility, as well as new changing rooms, a snack bar, and a community meeting room.
At a time when obesity and inactivity are major problems for young people, swimming excels as an attractive form of exercise on hot summer days. Additionally, the pool provides a low-cost alternative for parents who cannot afford to send their children to local summer camps. The addition of the separate family pool will greatly increase opportunities for younger children to enjoy the pool and to be introduced to the water and learn to swim without inconveniencing older children and adults.
The new pool will give new Americans and longtime residents a place to learn to swim. This is one of the most important outcomes of this project. Winooski is the most diverse community in Vermont in economic, racial, and cultural terms. Minorities have been shown to be at higher risk of drowning than the general population. The reasons for this are complex, but some of it can be attributed to a lack of access to opportunities to learn to swim. The new pool will provide opportunities to reach out to these groups with targeted programming in the form of swim lessons, aquatic safety classes, and summer camps.
The reconstruction of the Myers Memorial Pool will restore an important community resource to the citizens of Winooski. Thank you again for your generosity and we look forward to seeing you poolside!
Visit www.winooskipool.com for more details.