Last year, the Lakota children spent over 6,000 hours in the pool.

By partnering with St. Joseph’s Indian School on our pool renovation project, you can help provide Lakota (Sioux) children with an education for life — mind, body, heart and spirit.

St. Joseph’s rec center plays a major role in keeping students active. From organized sports teams to open gym, extracurricular activities and an exercise room, students have lots of options for staying fit and having fun. But one comes back again and again as a resounding favorite … the POOL!

During the 2014-2015 school year, St. Joseph’s students swam for a whopping 6,516 hours! In addition, staff and their families spent 769 hours in the pool. But our reasons don’t stop at fun and fitness:

Swimming Lessons

  • 40% of St. Joseph’s students come from the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Indian Reservations — communities that rest on the banks of the Missouri River. St. Joseph’s campus also sits on the banks of the river. Providing swimming lessons and water safety to our students has a real impact on safe playtime — both at St. Joseph’s and at home.

Building Community Relationships

  • Summer Day Camp participants from local reservations use the pool each afternoon during camp.
  • Staff members and their families have access to the pool.
  • The Chamberlain swim team uses St. Joseph’s pool when it’s too cold to practice outdoors.

Lifetime Fitness

  • Physical activity is a vital component in fighting childhood obesity and other diseases.
  • St. Joseph’s offers weekly water aerobics for staff, helping them stay healthy while keeping health insurance costs down.
  • Students, families, staff and others benefit from an activity they can enjoy for a lifetime!

Caring for the Environment

  • Improved filtration system
  • The new ultra-violet light unit will reduce chlorine usage by 70-80% — good for swimmers and for the budget!

Our renovation plans include:

    • Install a new vinyl pool liner — $40,000
    • Add a new ultraviolet light unit — $25,000
    • Install a new environmentally-friendly filtration system — $15,000
    • Build a small pool shed to house the filtration system — $10,000

A generous group of friends have pledged to match up to $30,000. To receive the matching funds, we must raise $30,000 before Friday, August 7. Please help make sure no dollar is left unmatched! Donate now to support the pool renovation for the Lakota boys and girls! Wopila tankamany thanks!

 

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