By Foss Swim School
We are fortunate as a team and as a company to be able to make such a positive impact on the world, and we have fun while doing it! Teaching people to swim both enriches and saves lives, and there’s nothing we’d rather be doing.
Our success comes from our FOSS families. As a company, we try to pay our good fortune forward every year by doing good things in our communities, from our headquarters in Minnesota to our school locations across North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri.
In 2023, we found new ways to give back while continuing to support many of our existing community partners. Here is a sampling of the ways we gave back this year; we hope this inspires you to support some of these groups and continue to be generous in meaningful ways!
- Ramping Up Our Scholarship Program: Foss Swim School expanded our scholarship program in 2023, helping more families afford swim lessons for their kids. We were able to provide 841 scholarship-backed enrollments in 2023 alone. Learn more about our updated scholarship program in this blog.
- Special Olympics: Our Burnsville, MN school was excited to partner with the Prior Lake/Savage delegation of the Special Olympics. The athletes practiced weekly with the instructors at our school throughout the swim season, providing a great experience for athletes and teachers alike!
- Promoting Water Safety: We continued to encourage water safety wherever we could, including at the Splash Into Summer event in Minnesota in May. For this event we teamed up with law enforcement and community groups to deliver important education during Water Safety Month.
- Sponsoring Healthy Activities: FOSS worked with Multi-Sport Experience to sponsor triathlons throughout the St. Louis, MO region, and sponsored and provided staff to the YMCA of the North’s triathlon. We love seeing people get introduced to the fun of competition!
- Participating in Community Events: Across our communities, we participated in more than 25 festivals, parades, expos, fun runs, and other events. One highlight was when we sponsored and participated in the Bedraces for Bridging in Burnsville, MN. In this fun event, FOSS raced against other sponsors on modified beds downhill to raise funds for Bridging, which provides furnishings to those in need. We also sponsored and participated in the Highland Park Strong Run in Illinois to raise money in support of the July 4th Highland Park Shooting Response Fund.
- Volunteering: Our team members are always excited to support worthy causes in their home communities. Our Missouri team partnered with the St. Louis Aquarium to sponsor and participate in Revamp the Riverfront. This event focused on cleaning up the shores of the mighty Mississippi River around downtown St. Louis. We LOVE WATER, not just swimming in it, but caring for it too!
- Donations: We make donations at a corporate and school level to help support community activities, often in the form of gift certificates for swim lessons. In 2023, we contributed to 195 different organizations.
A holiday wish for gratitude, understanding, and sharing
We’re energized and inspired through connecting with and helping our communities. We are committed to continue to find ways to be a force for good, and hope you’ll join us in the same.
Thank you for being a part of the FOSS Family. We feel lucky to be part of your lives and look forward to a healthy new year!
