Distinguished Community Business Partner 

Rancho Cordova has a deep, blue secret. 

It’s 83 degrees, 25 meters long, and wet. 

It’s in the business of teaching a lifesaving skill…And it’s making a big splash in our community.

Meet The Swimstitute, a Rancho Cordova indoor aquatics facility located on Folsom Boulevard. The Swimstitute is much more than a lap pool. It’s a community of individuals dedicated to enhancing lives – maybe even saving a few. 

While The Swimstitute is in business to teach swimming and other aquatic activities, that has not stopped them from sharing their beautiful facility with hundreds of children participating in the Rancho Cordova Police Activities League – PAL.

Since 2017, as an outstanding supporter of the Pool PALS program, The Swimstitute has taught hundreds of PAL youth, ages four through 13, how to swim. For free.

The “Tute,” as it is affectionately called, partners with PAL to offer a six-week course, which includes one swim lesson per week, as well as an intensive “Safety Day” workshop. This invaluable resource not only teaches kids how to swim, but how to be safe around the water.

PAL Officer Jose De La Cruz said the special relationship began a few years ago when he wandered into The Swimstitute and met owner Todd Sleizer. They connected over a shared Christian Brothers High School history and before you know it, Todd had offered up a plan to teach PAL kids how to swim.

Certified swim instructors volunteer their time to conduct the classes, moving children from fear of getting their face wet to swimming laps across the pool. Since that first class, 700 children have gained the confidence, the fun and life-saving skill of swimming. Some have even gone on to participate in swim teams like the Cordova Blue Marlins.

Officer De La Cruz said PAL provides the participants with a towel and pair of swimming goggles, and The Swimstitute provides the rest.

He told us:

If there is a downside to this wonderful PAL program it is that it is so popular there is now a waiting list of more than a year to get in.

As the weather heats up, kids living in the many apartments which have swimming pools will begin to look longingly at the blue water that awaits.

Families will flock to the American River, picnicking along the shore, as rafts of teenagers float by. There are nearly six miles of scenic recreation space in Rancho Cordova along the American River. 

But drowning is one of three leading causes of unintentional death for young people ages 0-19. Each year, hundreds of families are impacted by accidental drowning. 

Fortunately, the number of accidental drownings among youth has decreased since 2000, and it is experts in water safety like the Swimstitute who are on the front line of educating children, doing their part to contribute to this downward trend.  

To put a dollar value on the contribution The Swimstitute is making would look like this: 

700 kids times $240 for six weeks of swim lessons equals $168,000 dollars. Wow. 

But to put a dollar value on saving the life of a child is impossible.

To owner Todd Sleizer, and all of the great instructors at The Swimstitute, thank you for demonstrating how a business can become an indispensable partner to a community. Thank you for sharing your life-saving knowledge to children who are most vulnerable. We are in awe of your generosity. 

Without doubt, the Swimstitute’s good work ripples through Rancho Cordova. You are enhancing lives, and you are saving them. Congratulations and sincere thanks to The Tute! … our 2020-21 Distinguished Community Business Partner.