LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash officially launched the 100th
anniversary festivities at Westchester pool today for the city of Los
Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. Models donned swimwear
dating back to 1912, photos depicted the history of aquatics in the
city, and water fun reinforced a long-standing commitment to provide
safe and affordable aquatic programs for the residents of Los Angeles.
Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash, now in its seventh year, is
a free
summer program that teaches children and adults in low-income areas
to swim and promotes physical activity and obesity prevention efforts.
Since 2006, Kaiser Permanente’s financial commitment to Operation
Splash, funded as a Community
Benefit program, has grown to more than $3.5 million.
Tom Jones, an aquatics manager at the Department of Recreation and
Parks, believes in the program, “It’s in keeping with our goal to make
aquatics accessible to everyone. My four girls learned to swim at city
pools for 15 cents. In my mind, it’s unconscionable that little kids
still drown. Our goal is to promote water safety and then improve swim
skills.” Jones, now in his 60’s, learned to swim at the Westchester pool
when he was seven years old. He was what they called a “pool rat” – a
term used to describe young swimmers who would hang out at the pool
during the summer because that’s where their parents worked. By age 13,
Jones was a junior lifeguard. “I recently took the same lifeguard test
that I took when I was 18 and I won’t lie, it’s not as easy anymore,” he
said with a chuckle. “But I do it because I love it.”
Kaiser Permanente is providing a $265,000 grant to the Department of
Recreation and Parks Aquatics Division to underwrite swim lessons for
6,000 low-income children, teens, and adults at 35 city pools in Los
Angeles; help fund junior lifeguard training at 48 participating pools;
and extend the summer pool season for a week, at seven city pools,
serving 10,000 pool patrons.
“Since 2006, Operation Splash has provided a fun and healthy way
for children and their families to spend the hot summer months in Los
Angeles,” said Antonio
Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles. “This year, as we celebrate 100
years of aquatics, Kaiser Permanente will continue to help Angelenos
thrive by offering swim safety programs that encourage swimming as a
daily activity for healthier lifestyles.”
A recent California Health Interview Survey reported that 77 percent of
children ages 5 – 11, in Los Angeles County participate in less than one
hour of physical activity every day. “Kaiser Permanente is committed to
total health,” said Benjamin
Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, group president for Kaiser Permanente Southern
California and Hawaii. “Swimming and other aquatic sports provide
excellent physical activity opportunities. We congratulate Recreation
and Parks for its century-long commitment of access to parks and pools
and with Operation Splash, we share in their mission to improve
the health of our communities.”
Operation Splash is part of Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy
Eating, Active Living (HEAL) efforts to reduce obesity in the
community by increasing opportunities for safe physical activity and
access to healthy and affordable foods. For the fifth year, Kaiser
Permanente has expanded Operation Splash outside the city of Los
Angeles bringing its total pledge in 2012, to $513,000.
Additional grants for Operation Splash in 2012 include:
North of the River Recreation and Park District, Bakersfield, $30,000
Friends of Chula Vista Parks and Recreation, Chula Vista, $55,000
Desert Recreation District, Coachella Valley Recreation and Park
District, Indio, $50,000
City of Riverside, Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Department, Riverside, $55,000
City of San Bernardino, Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Department, San Bernardino, $28,000
City of Ventura, Community Services Department, Ventura, $30,000
“The LA84 Foundation wants every child in Southern California to know
how to swim. This is the 27th year we are offering a Summer
Swim program in partnership with the city of Los Angeles Recreation and
Parks and other municipalities so that youngsters can learn to swim and
participate in aquatic sports,” said Anita
L. DeFrantz, president of the LA84 Foundation. “Programs like ours
and Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash make it possible for
thousands of youngsters in Los Angeles to gain new skills, feel
comfortable in their neighborhood park pool, have fun, and enjoy the
summer.”
“I am very pleased that through the efforts of the Mayor, the City
Council, and our partners, Kaiser Permanente and LA84, we will be able
to offer Los Angeles residents a full summer swim season at all of our
pools, continuing this wonderful tradition,” said Jon
Kirk Mukri, general manager, Department of Recreation and Parks. “I
encourage everyone to come out to their local park and enjoy the pool;
and remember kids under the age of 18 swim for free.”
Please visit the Los
Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks’ website, or call
323-906-7953 for information about participating pools in the area.
About the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
Aquatics Division
The City of Los Angeles, Recreation and Parks Department, Aquatics
Division offers families and community members many healthy, affordable
and safe aquatic activities at their public pools, lakes, and beaches.
Recreation and Parks oversees 61 swimming pools, 11 lakes, and two
beaches. For more information please visit www.laparks.org.
About LA84 Foundation
The Foundation was established to manage Southern California’s share of
the surplus from the highly successful 1984 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles. The Foundation received $93 million at its inception. Since it
began operations in 1985, it has invested more than $200 million in
sports programs serving more than two and a half million youth in the
eight Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Imperial, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Its
headquarters is located in the historic Britt House near downtown Los
Angeles where it houses the world’s premier sports library and meeting
facilities. The Foundation awards grants, initiates sports programs,
offers coaching education and convenes numerous forums for the
exploration of the most pressing issues in sport. For additional
information, please visit http://ift.tt/1wed7Ll.
About Kaiser Permanente Southern California
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health
care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care
providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission
is to provide high quality, affordable health care services to improve
the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently
serve more than 3.5 million members in Southern California. Care for
members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by
their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our
expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by
industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion,
disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class
chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care
innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of
community health. For more information, go to: http://ift.tt/1weda9T.
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