Helping Children and Families-

Swim Lessons at Beaver County YMCA

Private- Leo Testimonial:

Leo was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 4 years old in April of 2021. During Leo’s treatment he lost so much muscle tone, mobility, movement, strength and energy. Leo was not able to socialize much during his treatment due to his immune system being compromised, so going to public pools was not allowed for Leo. Once we were further into treatment his Oncology team allowed me to get him back into swimming, something he absolutely loved! Swimming was something Leo did every single week when he was enrolled with the YMCA daycare program! He loved swim lessons; he would tell me all about it! Those stopped when he was diagnosed sadly. When I called to enquire about signing Leo up for swim lessons (to which I was incredibly nervous about because it meant putting him out into the world of germs for the first time), I spoke with Dana Tabay. She was amazing, she talked to me about The EJ Feltes Memorial Foundation. She explained how one of their main focuses is giving grants to families to make sure kids learn how to swim to prevent drowning accidents. She asked if this was something we would be interested in, absolutely! I was amazed by the story of EJ and his family, turning their tragedy into something positive for other kids which in turn helped my son. We started with Private Lessons with Dana, with just the basics to get him reacquainted with the water. He missed a lot of lessons due to being hospitalized or sick, but he has come so far with Dana’s instruction and the opportunity from the EJ Feltes Foundation. He can float on his back, he can safely get in and out of the water, he is working on his kicking now. I’m very thankful that he was given this opportunity, and can’t wait to watch him keep swimming! 

Brandi Caltieri