To help address New York City’s ongoing lifeguard shortage while creating new employment opportunities, the YMCA of Greater New York, with support from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is expanding its Community Lifesavers program across Queens and North Brooklyn.
The Community Lifesavers initiative expands access to swim instruction, aquatic safety training, and lifeguard certification in neighborhoods where opportunities have historically been limited. The program also helps participants earn nationally recognized credentials that can lead to employment in aquatic safety and recreation. Since the initiative’s launch in 2021, the YMCA has certified 796 lifeguards across New York City.
Anthem’s support will help the YMCA train and certify 50 lifeguards through October 2026. To date, 46 participants have already earned certification through the grant-supported program. This training includes branches in Queens (Cross Island, Flushing, Jamaica, and Rockaway) and North Brooklyn.
“At the community level, this is about more than filling jobs,” said Cedric Dew, executive director of the Jamaica YMCA in Queens, New York. “It is about giving people access to skills that can save lives, build confidence, and open the door to meaningful employment. By training and certifying more lifeguards, Anthem and the Y are helping to ensure that more pools and beaches are open this summer, and more New Yorkers have access to high-quality swim instruction.”
New York City has faced recurring lifeguard shortages in recent years, resulting in reduced pool hours and staffing challenges at public swimming facilities. Anthem’s support builds on a broader YMCA effort to reduce barriers to lifeguard certification, including cost, access to training, and job readiness support.
“Community Lifesavers demonstrates how workforce development and community health go hand in hand,” said Dr. Christy Valentine Theard, president of Medicare and Medicaid at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New York. “By helping New Yorkers gain valuable job skills and lifesaving certifications, we’re creating economic opportunity while making our communities safer.”
The initiative reflects Anthem’s commitment to addressing social determinants of health by investing in workforce development, economic mobility, and community safety.
New Yorkers interested in becoming certified lifeguards can learn more and apply through the YMCA of Greater New York’s lifeguard training program at the YMCA’s lifeguard information page.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Serving New Yorkers for 90 years, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is on a mission to materially and measurably improve the health of New Yorkers. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is the trade name of Anthem HP, LLC. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., serving residents and businesses in the 17 eastern and southeastern counties of New York state. Additional information about Anthem is available at www.anthem.com. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the YMCA of Greater New York
For more than 170 years, the YMCA of Greater New York has been where New Yorkers find their purpose, their people, and their place. As New York City’s leading nonprofit advancing individual and community health and well-being for all, the Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by providing access and opportunities for all to learn, grow, and thrive. We provide a place to play, to be healthy, and to give back. We give parents childcare, young adults job training, seniors a way to connect, and children a safe place to go. By bringing people together from different backgrounds, perspectives, and generations, the Y improves overall health and well-being, ignites youth empowerment, and connects and supports diverse communities across New York City. Follow the Y on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ymcanyc.
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