Daily News | Philadelphia has a lifeguard shortage. This program paid teens to fill the gap.
Michelle Mendez Lara was in a Google classroom when an advertisement for paid lifeguard certification training caught her eye. The senior at Thomas A. Edison High School would get paid $12 an hour to become a certified lifeguard, and secure a summer lifeguarding job at a community pool in the city once completed. She quickly followed the link and applied.
All in all, 248 Philly teenagers applied for the program — but many didn’t know how to swim. Fabiano narrowed the list down to 30 teens to take the swim test. Ultimately, 13 teenagers completed the 12-week, 25-hour training along with 20 hours of workforce development programming, graduating Saturday. Once pools reopen for the summer, the lifeguards will be getting paid $16 an hour.
“Because of what [Fabiano] did for us, we’re able to open a pool that we didn’t open the last few summers down in West Philly,” Salvatore said. “It’s remarkable.”Philadelphia pool closures leave neighborhoods without a vital community resource: ‘Why our pool?’ “Having a job on Saturdays helped me a lot,” Lara said. “And having a community pool that is free and accessible for the community … brings people together. I think it’s a good idea to enjoy the things that high-income people can enjoy, but just because we’re low-income, we might not have access to.”
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