Just Keep Swimming…and Fundraising: Michigan Teen Raises Thousands for Swim Lessons

By Bonnie Schipper, Swimming World College Intern

Seventy percent of African-American and Hispanic children cannot swim.

When high school senior Steven Lesha of Grosse Pointe, Michigan heard this statistic from his summer swim coach, he was immediately shocked.

“I took for granted that everyone knew how to swim,” Lesha said. “Theoretically, if I lived in Detroit and invited 10 friends to the pool, seven would say no. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of playing pool games and diving off of the diving board. I left the pool that day wanting to help give inner-city children the same opportunity to swim that I had growing up.”

Lesha’s coach went on to explain the mission of the Detroit Swims Initiative, a YMCA program focused on providing children in underserved communities with necessary water safety and swim skills over the course of an 8-lesson program.

At a cost of $100 per child, the program relies heavily on donations in order to achieve its goal of teaching 1,500 financially-limited children to swim each year. With the help of members of the four swim teams he belongs to, Lesha set out to raise $7,000 for Detroit Swims.

The first fundraising event took place at the Country Club of Detroit in July 2014. Competitive swimmers participated in a variety of events and were given assorted snacks, provided the donated a minimum of $10 to the cause.

“Swimmers love to swim and compete against one another so I organized a relay swim meet,” Lesha said. “Being that this was the first time that I was in full command of something, the event was simple and a little unorganized. Swimmers were asked to sign up prior to the event but I did not anticipate the tremendous number of walk-ins. Luckily, however, I was the only person who noticed. The event netted $800, which was a good start.”

Photo Courtesy: Steven Lesha

This past summer, a second event took place, significantly larger than the first.

“A pancake breakfast was donated for the swimmers in the meet, I had double the participants, and I raised over $2,000,” Lesha said.

In August, a third fundraiser was held in the Grosse Pointe community. After countless phone calls, emails, and visits, Lesha was able to organize an ice cream social at a local park. Over 50 members of the community attended, raising $1,500.

Donating money wasn’t enough to satisfy Lesha; he wanted to be a part of the action himself. Soon after his first fundraiser, he signed up to teach swim lessons for Detroit Swims.

“I was thrilled to have the opportunity to help children do my favorite thing–swim–and I was thinking of ways to make the lessons fun and engaging,” Lesha said.

Upon arrival, Lesha was introduced to the child he would be instructing, an 8-year-old autistic boy named Darius. Darius loved jumping into the water and couldn’t be more thrilled to have the opportunity to learn how to swim.

“He kept jumping off of the gutter into the water, then doggy-paddling back to the wall, only to get out and hop back in again,” Lesha said. “It was amazing to see his smile and hear his laughter as he did his best jumps. Once we met our goal of getting Darius comfortable with the water, we moved on to basic stroke drills. I was thrilled that I could have a direct impact on him by teaching him a necessary life skill. I walked away wanting to instill a love of the water in many more children like Darius.”

Even in the midst of college application season, Lesha continues to devise ways to raise money for the Detroit Swims Initiative. With the help of Peter Vanderkaay, an Olympic gold medalist and supporter of the organization, Lesha’s private high school agreed to allow students to “dress down” and wear something other than their usual uniforms if the participating students donated to Detroit Swims. The event, which Vanderkaay will promote at the school, is set for December 10. Another relay meet fundraiser is being planned for November 21, and is expected to be the biggest of Lesha’s events thus far.

“There will even be a concession stand for the swimmers and spectators,” Lesha said. “As in past relay meets, each swimmer will be asked to donate a minimum of $10. Every swimmer will also receive a Detroit Swims cap, hopefully raising even more awareness within the swim community. I am working to have at least ten $100 sponsors and five $50 sponsors for this event. I estimate that we will raise a minimum of $3,000. “

Lesha plans to continue his work into 2016, then “pass the torch” on to another Grosse Pointe swimmer who will organize more events to support Detroit Swims.

“I want the work I have started to continue,” Lesha said. “It is important that children and teens are personally involved in helping other children. Swimming is not just my favorite sport; it is a life skill every child should have the right to learn. “

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Alexander B Gallant

8 years ago

Thank you