(Alexandria, Va.) — This GivingTuesday, Step Into Swim, an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) dedicated to creating more swimmers through safe swim education, will inspire generosity and expand its lifesaving impact by rallying support for its 2026 learn-to-swim grant programs. Step Into Swim grants increase access to swimming and water safety education for children and communities across the globe.
GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday kicks off the giving season each year by inspiring people to give back on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and throughout the year.
For Step Into Swim, participating in GivingTuesday is a powerful opportunity to strengthen its mission of creating more swimmers, reducing childhood drowning, and ensuring all children have equitable access to swim education. In 2025 alone, Step Into Swim has:
- Raised over $1.5 million
- Funded 180,000+ swim lessons
- Supported 250+ learn-to-swim programs
- Partnered with leading aquatic organizations, donors, and community programs to expand equity in water safety
- Reached children across 43 states, as well as American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Grand Cayman, and Canada
With continued donor support, Step Into Swim plans to expand its reach even further in 2026 by equipping more swim schools, YMCAs, parks and recreation departments, and aquatic programs with the resources they need to provide safe, effective, and accessible swim lessons.
“Every child deserves the chance to learn how to swim — and every donor who supports Step Into Swim is helping save lives,” said three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, Vice President of Partnerships & Development at PHTA, who leads the Step Into Swim initiative. “GivingTuesday is an incredible opportunity for the pool, spa, and hot tub industry to unite for one cause: eradicating accidental drownings. Together with our supporters, Step Into Swim works every day to ensure more children learn to swim, gain confidence in the water, and enjoy a safer future.”
GivingTuesday began in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past 13 years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Each action—big or small—contributes to lasting positive change. For more details about GivingTuesday, visit www.givingtuesday.org.
Every dollar donated to Step Into Swim goes directly to learn-to-swim programming. To join Step Into Swim’s GivingTuesday efforts, visit stepintoswim.org/donate.
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About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and Step Into Swim
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The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with over 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members’ professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.
Step Into Swim is an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention. By investing in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programs, the Step Into Swim initiative instills confidence, empowers long-term participation in water activities, touts the positive benefits of water play, and advocates for safe practices. Since its inception in 2012, Step Into Swim has played a role in reducing drowning fatalities and has gifted swim lessons to more than 500,000 children with support from community organizations, partners, industry advocates, members and more. For more information, visit www.stepintoswim.org.
About GivingTuesday:
GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It was created in 2012 at New York’s 92nd Street Y and incubated in its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact. What started as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The movement is brought to life through a distributed network of entrepreneurial leaders who lead national movements in more than 110 countries across the globe. An integral part of the global generosity movement is the GivingTuesday organization, which offers support and resources to GivingTuesday leaders and fosters connection and collaboration across the network. To learn more about GivingTuesday, please visit: www.givingtuesday.org.
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