Tag: pool pass project

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Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Pool Pass Project is justified

To the Editor:

Mr. Klaus makes an interesting claim regarding the fact that poor parenting led to the tragic drowning of Assunda Rotolo and Les Davis Jr., more so than the lack of public support for access to the Lewisburg community pool (Letter to the Editor, April 20, 2012). Unfortunately, we find this point of view one that is commonly leveled against low income parents alone. For instance, newspaper accounts from the June 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart, the affluent 14-year-old from Salt Lake City, do not mention her parents’ lack of responsibility with their failure to set their home alarm prior to bedding down for the night as a cause for Elizabeth’s subsequent kidnapping. We know from our interactions with the families that every day, Assunda and Les’s parents feel guilt over the loss of their children and what they might have done to prevent it.

As a community, we have little oversight over the parenting practices of individuals. We do, however, have the ability (and we might go so far as to say responsibility) to construct the kind of healthy, supportive community we envision. We imagine a community where children have opportunities for safe and accessible play with their families. That is why we organize the Pool Pass Project. Each recipient makes a financial contribution to their pass–-whatever they can afford. Last year, we helped 16 families safely play. We hope we have helped to create a system where a parent does not have to choose between providing food or supervised family play. We go to bed feeling good about this commitment. We hope that Mr. Klaus is equally as comforted by his position.

Sue Ellen Henry, Associate Professor of Education

Selected members from EDUC 318/618, spring 2012

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Pool Pass Project is justified through understanding

To the Editor:

I would like to thank Sue Ellen Henry and Bucknell University for their continued dedication to the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project. As the principal of Linntown Elementary School, I have witnessed how this event benefits many of my students who would have otherwise not had affordable access to a safe swimming environment. I have heard parents cry with gratitude when they were told that their families would be receiving pool passes.  Not only does it offer a way for students to stay cool and have fun during the summer months, but it also provides them with the ability to stay connected with their schoolmates and peers while school is not in session.

I am also grateful for how the event continues to honor the memory of Assunda Rotolo and Les Davis, Jr. It saddens me to see that there are individuals who still wish to point fingers in this tragedy and blame the parents of these children. Having known Assunda for the two years she was at a student at Linntown, I saw firsthand the love and devotion that her parents felt towards her. She was truly the center of their universe. Assunda was one of the most genuine, caring and compassionate children I have had the pleasure of knowing. She always sought to take care of others and, no matter what she herself might need, was always generous and giving. This was not something that happened by accident and is a testament to her parents for instilling those traits in her. Anyone who knew the family would never question their parenting or that the safety of their child was important to them. Sadly, there were many who chose not to know them because of their economic situation and lack of resources. While there were many children at school who had far greater material items, there was no child who was loved more by her parents.

While I want to be angry when I hear the judgmental comments being cast, I do try to understand the source of those sentiments. I think it is a way for us to try to feel safer, to believe that something like this couldn’t happen to our families and those we love. If we can find fault or a way to place blame, then just maybe we are somehow immune to tragedy. Sadly, this is not the case. We are all vulnerable to the many things that can go horribly wrong in life. The parents of these children should not be cast as villains. They have already suffered the greatest heartache anyone could face.

Paula J. Reber
Linntown Elementary School Principal

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News

5K and Zumba raise $2000 for passes

By Lauren Buckley
Writer

University students and local families put on their sweatbands and running shorts and gathered in Gerhard Fieldhouse on Sunday morning to walk, run and Zumba up a sweat to raise money for the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project. Over 150 people attended and raised a grand total of $2,000. The event itself raised enough money for 10 families to have subsidized passes, but with the existing funds that the project already had, they will be able to provide 20 passes for this summer.

Students in Educ 318 (Multiculturalism and Education), with the guidance of Sue Ellen Henry, associate professor of education, created the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project in conjunction with the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority (LARA). The 5K Fun Run and Zumbathon was coordinated entirely by these students as well as members of the Panhellenic Council.

“I appreciate this event because it demonstrates my values of living in a community that helps children play safely with their families. Our fund is sensitive to the fact that not all families have access to the same financial resources; some families have to make difficult decisions around money. I’m proud that for three years, students at Bucknell have supported local families of low income to not have to make these trying decisions,” Henry said.

This initiative commemorates the lives of 11-year-old Assunda Rotolo of Lewisburg and her cousin, eight-year-old Les Davis Jr. of Mifflinburg, who drowned in the Susquehanna River, which they were swimming in because they could not afford pool passes.

“When I think about the fact that right here in Lewisburg two kids drowned because they couldn’t afford pool passes, it makes me furious and want to do better. It’s a good reality check for Bucknell students. We get to live a pretty privileged lifestyle away from home, while some townspeople down the block do not,”  said Ashley O’Connor ’13, an Education 318 student.

Combined with existing funds and the money raised from the 5K Fun Run and Zumbathon event, the Pool Pass Project will be able to provide 20 pool passes to families this summer. In its first summer, the initiative was able to provide pool passes and swimming lessons for five families, and in its second year, 16 families benefited from the money raised by the Pool Pass Project. This goes to show that the project has expanded and is still growing.

“I’d like to formally thank the businesses that supported our project, Facilities staff, LA Posse 2 and members of the proposed new sorority Mu Sigma Upsilon for volunteering the day of our event. I look forward to working with Panhellenic Council next year, when they take over this philanthropy project,” Henry said.

Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Pool Pass Project

To the Editor:

Lauren Buckley made an important omission in her article “Education class to fundraise for pool passes.”  The article stated that the project began after the tragic drowning of two children whose parents could not afford pool passes and used the river for recreational purposes. While that might be true, it is also true that the children were sent, unsupervised, to play in the river while parents remained back at the home, at least two blocks away. While it is a tragedy that these children drowned, it should be noted that beyond the issue of using the pool, they were young children allowed to swim alone in the river after their parents had been warned not to let the children “stick a toe” in the sometimes turbulent and rapidly changing waters. The drowning has more to do with parental responsibility and the dangerous Susquehanna than with a lack of pool passes.

Sincerely,
William A. Klaus

Categories
News

Education class to fundraise for pool passes

By Lauren Buckley

Writer

Students from Education 318 (Multiculturalism and Education) are coordinating a 5K Fun Run/Walk and Zumbathon that will occur on April 22 at 10 a.m. in Gerhard Fieldhouse to benefit the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project. The Lewisburg Pool Pass Project helps to reduce the cost of community pool passes for needy families in the surrounding area. 

University students, with the guidance of Sue Ellen Henry, associate professor of education, created the initiative in conjunction with Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority (LARA) in the spring of 2010. The Panhellenic Council will also be co-sponsoring the event this year. Henry integrated the cause, which is centered on how the inequality of experiences can impact a child’s life and education, into her Education 318 class as it paralleled the course’s theme of social justice problems existing in society.

“Each year the students from the course decide on the fundraiser approach and do absolutely all the work to coordinate the project. As you can imagine, I’m very, very proud of the student effort; each year the determination has astounded me,” Henry said.

The project began after the tragic drownings of 11-year-old Assunda Rotolo of Lewisburg and her cousin, eight-year-old Les Davis Jr. of Mifflinburg. The families of the children had not been able to afford summer pool passes and used the Susquehanna River for recreational purposes instead.  The Pool Pass Project honors the memory of these children.

“Many of us at Bucknell are truly privileged, and the Pool Pass Project offers us all a small yet significant way to give back to the community we call our second home,” said Megan Doyle ’12, a student of Education 318 and coordinator of the fundraiser.

The initiative was able to provide pool passes and swimming lessons for five families during its first summer and 16 families during its second summer. Those involved in the cause hope to continue increasing the number of subsidized passes given to needy families each year. 

“I am particularly invested in this project after spending this past summer as a camp counselor with LARA. I saw first-hand how safe and fun the community pool is, and I appreciate the chance to work with the other committed Multiculturalism students to help more local children have access to that great community resource,” Doyle said.

All proceeds of the 5K Fun Run/Walk and Zumbathon will go directly to the Lewisburg Pool Pass Project. In addition, baskets filled with items from local businesses that will be donated by Greek and other student organizations will also be raffled off at the event. Any student organization interested in donating to the event can submit a basket filled with $50 worth of items from community businesses to Olin 459 by April 13. Games and activities will also be offered at the event for children, and all interested parties can register at http://www.tinyurl.com/poolpassproject.

“My personal hope for this year’s event is to not only raise sufficient funds to meet the need for subsidized pool passes this summer, but also to generate an awareness and enthusiasm that will carry over from year to year,” Doyle said.