April 18, 2024
The Weston Hooters location presented a $5,000 donation to the Weston YMCA for drowning prevention in South Florida. Several Weston Hooters employees including Heather Widle, Lea Lucas, Jazmyn Azan and Alexis Russo presented the donation check at their neighborhood YMCA on March 28 during the Annual Swim for Jenny week.
Each year, the YMCA’s Josh the Otter swim program provides 300 free swim lessons. The swim lessons teach kids how to flip over on the back, float and reach the side of the pool. Weston Hooters matched all of the funds raised in the restaurant from March 8 to 10. The Weston Hooters Girls also brought additional awareness to the very important cause all weekend by wearing water themed accessories with “Josh the Otter” stickers on their uniforms and decorating water themed baskets for additional donations.
“It is important for community partnerships including the Weston YMCA to help bring awareness to make sure every child has access to early lifesaving techniques should they fall into water. Our employees at the Weston Hooters location wanted to be involved in this important initiative to raise funds to help kids in our neighborhood,” said LTP Management Director of Marketing Kristi Quarles.
“The Weston Y is proud to be collaborating with Hooters to help raise funds and awareness for drowning prevention in South Florida. Broward County has water all around us with pools, oceans, and canals. It is not surprising we are number one in the country for children drowning and that does not include statistics of children who survive, but need long term medical care. The Y of South Florida is doing everything we can to help change those statistics. Through our generous donors and partners such as Hooters, we are proud to be able to offer this program free to anyone who needs to learn these vital life saving techniques,” said John Antonelli, Executive Director of the Weston YMCA. “We want to make sure every child knows how to flip on their back, get air, float, and kick to safety. We have proven through these early intervention methods it will reduce the likelihood of drowning by 88% should an accident occur and they find themselves in a pool, lake, canal, ocean, or even bathtub,” added Antonelli.
During the week of March 25th thru the 29th the Weston Y and all the Y’s in South Florida with pools hosted their Annual Swim for Jenny week. Any child who has not been exposed to swim lessons will be given a free week of our Safety around Water Program. Across these five days, participants will learn to flip on their back, float, and kick to safety – just like an Otter.
