$0.75 to Pursue Your Dreams (The Nica Nadadores)
$0.75 to Pursue Your Dreams (The Nica Nadadores)
Former college swimmers Timmy Hayes, Scot Robison, and Kyle Shoemaker have teamed up to start a swimming program dubbed "Nica Nadadores" in Nicaragua.
By Abigail Fish
If you're an avid swim fan, I'm sure the names of Timmy Hayes, Scot Robison, and Kyle Shoemaker ring a bell. All of these guys had decorated NCAA swimming careers and now are using their knowledge and experiences in the sport to give back to a community in Managua, Nicaragua.
The three athletes teamed up in 2014 after Hayes, a former University of Virginia swimmer, wound up in Nicaragua with a group called Manna Project International. While in Managua, Hayes met a missionary who wanted to build a community pool, and from there, the idea for a swim team in Managua was born.
First official team practice in 2014.
Hayes knew that finding the funding to build a pool was going to be an extremely hard feat. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Most families have an average daily income of approximately $2.50 a day. If it was not for numerous donations and fundraisers (locally and abroad), the team and the pool would have never existed.
The swimming initiative, which calls itself Nica Nadadores, officially opened its doors in 2014. After combing all the donations and fundraising efforts, the team finished construction on its own pool in early 2015. Besides swim classes, the Nica Nadadores provides equipment and academic tutoring to its swimmers. The team also includes a scholarship and apprenticeship program for its "student-athletes."
The start of construction on their pool.
Their goal is simple: to use the sport of swimming as a tool to empower the next generation of leaders in underserved communities in Nicaragua.
Fast forward two years later, and the Nadadores are doing just that. The Nadadores have grown to over 90 swimmers with four training groups. While still having only one full-time staff member, the Nadadores solely rely on fundraising efforts and donations (local and abroad) to stay alive.
Local swimmers with Kyle and Timmy.
There is only one fee of $0.75 required from each swimmer to join the program, and that is solely because the Nadadores believe in the proverb, "free things have no value." By paying to join (even if it's just a little bit), it gives swimmers more of a commitment to the program and their teammates.
With hopes of opening up another pool site in the future and connecting more U.S. athletes to Nicaguara and vice versa, the Nadadores have launched a sponsorship program called "90 swimmers in 90 days." This donation-based program allows you to pick the swimmer you'd like to sponsor and establish a relationship with them (as much as you see fit).
A full sponsorship donation is $250 and that includes an entire year of swim classes, equipment, swim meets, school supplies, and tutoring services to an athlete. Partial sponsorships are welcome and also available. The sponsorship program ends on December 2. With only 32 swimmers left to sponsor, Hayes is optimistic they will reach their goal.
For more information on how to donate and/or to get involved, please visit their website: www.nicanadadores.org. If you'd like to follow their journey, you can find their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages @nicanadadores.
"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." -- John Bunyan.
If you're an avid swim fan, I'm sure the names of Timmy Hayes, Scot Robison, and Kyle Shoemaker ring a bell. All of these guys had decorated NCAA swimming careers and now are using their knowledge and experiences in the sport to give back to a community in Managua, Nicaragua.
The three athletes teamed up in 2014 after Hayes, a former University of Virginia swimmer, wound up in Nicaragua with a group called Manna Project International. While in Managua, Hayes met a missionary who wanted to build a community pool, and from there, the idea for a swim team in Managua was born.
First official team practice in 2014.
Hayes knew that finding the funding to build a pool was going to be an extremely hard feat. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Most families have an average daily income of approximately $2.50 a day. If it was not for numerous donations and fundraisers (locally and abroad), the team and the pool would have never existed.
The swimming initiative, which calls itself Nica Nadadores, officially opened its doors in 2014. After combing all the donations and fundraising efforts, the team finished construction on its own pool in early 2015. Besides swim classes, the Nica Nadadores provides equipment and academic tutoring to its swimmers. The team also includes a scholarship and apprenticeship program for its "student-athletes."
The start of construction on their pool.
Their goal is simple: to use the sport of swimming as a tool to empower the next generation of leaders in underserved communities in Nicaragua.
Fast forward two years later, and the Nadadores are doing just that. The Nadadores have grown to over 90 swimmers with four training groups. While still having only one full-time staff member, the Nadadores solely rely on fundraising efforts and donations (local and abroad) to stay alive.
Local swimmers with Kyle and Timmy.
There is only one fee of $0.75 required from each swimmer to join the program, and that is solely because the Nadadores believe in the proverb, "free things have no value." By paying to join (even if it's just a little bit), it gives swimmers more of a commitment to the program and their teammates.
With hopes of opening up another pool site in the future and connecting more U.S. athletes to Nicaguara and vice versa, the Nadadores have launched a sponsorship program called "90 swimmers in 90 days." This donation-based program allows you to pick the swimmer you'd like to sponsor and establish a relationship with them (as much as you see fit).
A full sponsorship donation is $250 and that includes an entire year of swim classes, equipment, swim meets, school supplies, and tutoring services to an athlete. Partial sponsorships are welcome and also available. The sponsorship program ends on December 2. With only 32 swimmers left to sponsor, Hayes is optimistic they will reach their goal.
For more information on how to donate and/or to get involved, please visit their website: www.nicanadadores.org. If you'd like to follow their journey, you can find their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages @nicanadadores.
"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." -- John Bunyan.