Wednesday, August 26, 2026

LA84 Foundation Grant Will Fund Swim Instruction for Every Third Grader at 14 Pasadena Unified Schools

Every third grader at 14 Pasadena Unified School District schools will receive swim instruction through the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center under a new Learn to Swim grant from the LA84 Foundation, the foundation announced in a news release. The grant will support more than 1,000 youth.

The Pasadena award is part of $330,000 the foundation distributed to eight organizations across Southern California, an investment the foundation said will bring water safety education to 10,000 young people. Pasadena is one of seven cities named in the round, along with Bell Gardens, El Centro, El Monte, Rialto, Riverside and National City, spanning Los Angeles, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

“Our partnership with Pasadena Unified School District and alignment with the LA84 Foundation have made it possible to bring this life-saving intervention to over 30,000 youth throughout our history,” Arvin Varma, chief operating officer of the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, said in the release. “This year, we’re on track to save lives, strengthen our community, and empower future generations.”

The Pasadena partnership reflects a school-centered approach the foundation said it is using to reach youth on a greater scale. More than 200,000 local youth have learned to swim with LA84 support, the foundation said, and it is investing in organizations that collaborate with school districts to teach entire elementary grades water safety.

The foundation said the approach addresses longstanding disparities by providing swimming skills to youth from populations disproportionately affected by drowning, citing USA Swimming research indicating that 64% of Black children and 45% of Latino children have little to no swimming ability.

“The LA84 Foundation has expanded opportunities for youth to learn to swim throughout our history, and we are grateful for the organizations, school districts and municipalities that make these life-saving programs possible,” Renata Simril, president and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, said in the release. “We are proud to support these programs, and the goal of these investments is to keep pools, beaches and waterways safe for all children.”

Elsewhere in the grant round, the City of El Monte, working with the Mountain View and El Monte City school districts, will ensure all second graders gain an understanding of water safety, with the grant supporting an estimated 1,400 youth at 29 elementary schools. The City of Bell Gardens, partnering with Montebello Unified School District, will provide swimming lessons without financial or transportation barriers to second graders in multiple cities, including Bell Gardens, which has a predominantly Latino population, with the grant supporting 597 youth at four elementary schools. The City of Riverside, working with the Alvord Unified and Riverside Unified school districts on school-based swim lessons, will fund 684 scholarships focused on elementary school youth and adaptive lessons.

“This grant strengthens year-round aquatics programming by expanding access to swim lessons, water safety education, and youth development opportunities throughout the community,” Jessica Ochoa, City of Riverside recreation superintendent, said in the release.

The foundation also identified pilot projects that will expand water safety with school support, including the Swim Up Hill Foundation, led by local Paralympian Jamal Hill, which has school partnerships in National City, an area of San Diego County with a majority Latino demographic.

“Through this program, we’re creating a scalable pathway to ensure every child in National City has access to foundational water safety and swim education — starting in the classroom and culminating in the pool,” Hill, CEO and founder of the Swim Up Hill Foundation, said in the release.

The City of El Centro’s Aquatic Center, the only year-round public pool in Imperial County, will receive support for 900 Learn to Swim scholarships, and the City of Rialto, which offers free introductory swim lessons in San Bernardino County, will receive 375 youth scholarships.

The Learn to Swim awards follow $1.9 million in grants the foundation issued in April to organizations supporting play equity across Southern California, reaching 40,000 youth.

The LA84 Foundation was created as a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and has supported thousands of Southern California organizations for more than four decades through grants, funding infrastructure, training coaches and commissioning research. Its campus houses a sports library with a digital collection documenting the history and value of physical activity.

Information about the foundation is available at https://la84.org, and the foundation posts as @LA84Foundation.