Swim Instructor Spearheads Effort To Teach Belizean Kids How To Swim

ST. CHARLES, IL — A group of local swim instructors were not able to make an annual trip to Belize to share their knowledge of how to stay safe in the water with the children of an improvised town there. As part of an effort that started in 2014 when Alex Tyler, owner of Goldfish Swim schools in St. Charles and Glen Ellyn visited Gales Point, Belize, instructors this year had planned to build a mission camp.

That camp would've provided basic accommodations for volunteers during future visits. But supply chain issues stopped that short, since the team was not able to secure building supplies.

Tyler still wanted to do something for the folks in Gales Point, so he spearheaded a "CandyGram campaign" with more than 40 Goldfish Swim Schools across the country. He encouraged Goldfish members to send CandyGram messages to their favorite instructor or friends from swim class.

Each CandyGram came with a $1 donation, and that money went toward paying for secondary school scholarships for kids living in Gales Point, Belize. In total, the fundraiser brought in $15,500.

That money will cover the costs of scholarships and transportation for 75 students.

“My work in Gales Point, Belize, is so meaningful to me because not only does it align with what we do in terms of Goldfish’s core mission, but it’s been a way for me to connect with others throughout the Goldfish organization with a shared commitment to service," Tyler said.

Tyler first traveled to Gales Point, a small remote fishing village in Belize, as part of a mission trip.

Following that 2014 trip, Tyler and other Goldfish swim instructors made seven trips to Gales Point to teach children how to swim and complete various building projects, according to a news release from Goldfish Swim schools.

Bringing in extra help was a game changer, Tyler said in a 2017 YouTube video.

"Last year, I came to Gales Point by myself and it kind of showed me that if we had more people this would be a totally different experience. I couldn't manage 40 kids in the water; I needed help. This year I got that help," he said.

In 2017, 20 Goldfish instructors and managers headed to Gales Point to help teach children basic swimming skills, and the kids' enthusiasm to learn was contagious. As soon as instructors got into the water, they were surrounded by children.

"We assigned them in groups, put them in different areas, and they started on their own," said Brian Ocava, who made the trip as a representative from Goldfish Swim School in St. Charles in 2017, in the YouTube video. "They loved learning new things. As soon as you would show them one aspect of our curriculum, they'd just take right to it and would say, 'next.'"

During that trip, they also built a home for a single mom in the village.

Since then, Goldfish Swim School instructors have made improvements to a local school house and playground. They also added steps to the swimming pier, so kids could get in and out of the water more easily, Caitlin M. Giles, a spokeswoman for Goldfish Swim Schools, told Patch in an email response.