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Heritage Pool Supply Group Continues Partnership with Step Into Swim Drowning Prevention Initiative
- Feb 24, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2025
Media Contacts:
Amy Willer
Director, Content and Communications
703-838-0083, ext. 121 | awiller@phta.org
Missy Morgan
Vice President of Marketing
214-491-4149 | Missy.Morgan@srsdistribution.com
HERITAGE POOL SUPPLY GROUP CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP WITH STEP INTO SWIM DROWNING PREVENTION INITIATIVE
Charity concert leads to $100,000 donation
(Alexandria, Va.) — Step Into Swim, an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) dedicated to creating more swimmers through safe swim education, is pleased to announce that Heritage Pool Supply Group and its Heritage Cares Foundation has generously donated $100,000 to the program. Heritage Cares hosted a charity concert at The Pool & Spa Show powered by the Northeast Spa & Pool Association in Atlantic City, NJ, last month, with Step Into Swim being one of four nonprofits supported.
Heritage Pool Supply Group representatives present a check to Step Into Swim at the 2025 Pool & Spa Show
“In 2024, Heritage Pool Supply Group became our biggest champion at Step Into Swim. Their generous donation last year provided lifesaving swim lessons for 8,000 children, and we are so thankful to be able to positively impact even more lives in 2025 thanks to their continued support,” says Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, PHTA Vice President of Partnerships & Development, who leads the Step Into Swim initiative. “I am so incredibly grateful to Matt McDermott and the entire Heritage team for their tireless work in helping us fulfill our mission. They are truly a positive force in the industry—and beyond!”
Heritage Cares believes in leveraging the strength of its network to make a meaningful impact in the communities Heritage Pool Supply Group serves. Since 2021, Heritage Cares has selected Step Into Swim as one of the causes for its annual charity concert series, helping to raise even more awareness within the pool, spa, and hot tub industry about the importance of water safety and drowning prevention.
“The swimming pool industry is blessed to have both PHTA and Rowdy Gaines leading the charge on such an important initiative,” says Matt McDermott, President of Heritage Pool Supply Group, who currently serves as PHTA Board Treasurer. “We are proud of our growing partnership with Step Into Swim and look forward to giving back even more in the many years to come. Every life is worth saving and the work that Rowdy and team are doing is exceptional.”
Step Into Swim and its supporters provide the lifesaving skill of learning to swim and raise awareness of the pool and hot tub industry’s role in improving public health and safety. In 2024, Step Into Swim raised over $1.2 million, which provided grants across 43 states, Canada, Grand Cayman, and American Samoa and funded swim lessons for over 30,000 children. The initiative has gifted more than 400,000 swim lessons since 2012. Step Into Swim is funded through partner contributions, which are integral for advancing the mission. Every dollar donated goes directly to learn-to-swim programming. To learn more, visit www.stepintoswim.com.
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About the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and Step Into Swim™:
The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), a non-profit organization with 4,000 members from around the world, was established in 1956 to support, promote, and protect the common interests of the $62B pool, hot tub, and spa industry. PHTA provides education, advocacy, standards development, research, and market growth initiatives to increase our members' professionalism, knowledge, and profitability. Additionally, PHTA promotes the use of pools by expanding swimming, water safety, and related research and outreach activities aimed at introducing more people to swimming, making swimming environments safer, and keeping pools open to serve communities. For more information, visit www.phta.org.
Step Into Swim™ is an initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and its foundation committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention. By investing in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programming, the Step Into Swim initiative instills confidence, empowers long-term participation in water activities, touts the positive benefits of water play, and advocates for safe practices. Since its inception in 2012, Step Into Swim has played a role in reducing drowning fatalities and has gifted swim lessons to more than 400,000 children with support from community organizations, partners, industry advocates, members, and more. For more information, visit www.StepIntoSwim.org.
About Heritage Pool Supply Group:
Heritage Pool Supply Group has grown to become one of the largest and fastest growing pool supply distributors in the United States. Since its inception in 2021, Heritage has established a differentiated growth strategy and entrepreneurial culture that is focused on serving customers, partnering with suppliers, and attracting the industry’s best talent. Heritage currently operates under a family of distinct local brands encompassing more than 130 locations across 36 states. Heritage Pool Supply Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of SRS Distribution Inc., one of the largest and fastest-growing wholesale distributors in the United States.
