By Brad Pass
The 7,000 children and youth of the Phillips Community will once again have a place to learn to swim. If one young person”'s life is saved from drowning by this huge effort to bring swimming back to these neighborhoods with immense “kids of color” population, all the blood, sweat and tears will have been worth it. The fact that every drowning victim in Mpls., the City of Lakes, for several years has been a youth from a diverse community who was not able to swim and without an available and affordable place to learn has motivated this project. The Phillips Pool project is intent on resolving this serious inequity of the City.
The East Phillips Improvement Coalition (EPIC) has been in the forefront of the community wide effort to save and renovate the defunct swimming pool in the Phillips Community Center, 2323 11th Ave. S, Minneapolis.
East Phillips Neighborhood members supported the pool in a series of votes to allocate $50,000 of EPIC”'s NRP dollars for the reconstruction of the pool and facility. EPIC sequestered these funds hoping for a matching grant. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community made that offer. The combined gift of $100,000.caused the dream for the full facility to “get real”. The renewed, Phillips Aquatic Center, will have refurbished main pool and a new zero entry warm water teaching / therapeutic pool along with locker rooms and all the new filtration systems.
EPIC Board President, Carol Pass, presented an oversized version of EPIC”'s check to Denny Bennett, President of Minneapolis Swims at a news conference at the Center on Nov. 6th. Janet Lee and Ellen McGinnis presented a $25,000. check from Wells Fargo. Others present were Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Vice Chairman Keith Anderson, State Representative Karen Clark, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, Park Commissioner Scott Vreeland, Dean Dovolis, Principal of DJR Architecture, City CM Abdi Warsame & Aisha Gomez, representative of CM Alondra Cano, and School Board members Mohamed Noor and Siad Ali and many community members.
Carol Pass thanked East Phillips residents and the EPIC Board who worked so hard to save this money for the community and its Pool project. She also acknowledged the three year commitment of Hannah Lieder in framing and defining the critical need for this life saving year-round facility in the heart of inner-city Minneapolis
The entire community thanks all the donors and especially the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for their generous match of up to $250,000. More money is available for matching pool donations and Park Board Commissioner Scott Vreeland wrote a personal check to take advantage of doubling his donation. If you would like to contribute to this incredible project do not miss this opportunity to double your money. Mail a check to Minneapolis Swims, 2323 11th Ave. S. Suite 135, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Or contribute online at www.razoo.com/story/Minneapolis-Swims.
