Going for Gold with Step Into Swim

Heritage Pool Supply Group expands its philanthropic outreach, approaching $1 million in donations to swimming safety

There are many ways to make a difference. For Heritage Pool Supply Group, making that difference looks like championing and giving to causes that are central to your business.

Heritage Cares, Heritage Pool Supply Group’s philanthropic arm, is committed to supporting efforts that affect the communities it serves, including the pool and hot tub industry, customers, partners, and employees.

“We supply the pool industry and, therefore, have a direct connection to promoting safe pools and safe swimming,” says Heritage Pool Supply Group president Matthew McDermott, who currently serves as treasurer of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) Board of Directors. “PHTA’s Step Into Swim program simply made sense. We consider them a signature partner in our nonprofit portfolio.”

Concerts take center stage

Heritage Cares has been a marquee sponsor of Step Into Swim, PHTA’s drowning prevention initiative that provides funding to learn-to-swim programs in underserved communities, since 2021. The goal: To raise $1 million over five years. In year one, they raised around $25,000. Now in year four, they’ve raised $800,000 and counting.

“This goes to our core DNA as a company,” McDermott says. “When we’re in, we’re all in. We want to be a really significant partner.”

Heritage Cares’ first fundraising effort came in 2021 when they sponsored the Northeast Spa & Pool Association’s annual trade show concert. The event sold out and more charity concerts followed, including last year’s memorable 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd show at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Heritage Cares added on a charity auction featuring donated instruments, concert memorabilia, and autographed posters.

"The risk of drowning is real. Step Into Swim ensures that kids learn to be competent swimmers, and parents learn to pay better attention when their kids are in the water."
- Matthew McDermott

Engaging more donors

Other fundraising efforts include hosting an annual charity golf tournament for local partners. This year they started getting customers in on the fun.

“We broadened our appeal by instituting our ‘Winning Wednesdays’ promotion, offering customers a chance to win money – on a promise that any winnings donated back into the program would be matched by Heritage Cares,” says Mikell Bollinger, vice president of community engagement for Heritage and its parent company, SRS Distribution.

The organization’s efforts carry meaning on multiple levels. The Heritage family of companies has grown to 11,000 employees over the past 16 years. In that prolific growth, Heritage has continued to bring employees opportunities to donate through payroll deductions and get involved, including eight hours of paid volunteer time each year.

As McDermott says: “The giving mentality is contagious.”

Finding deeper meaning

Heritage Cares’ slogan is “Raise money, have fun, and give back.”

But to McDermott, a father of young children himself, it’s a personal mission. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1-4, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“The risk of drowning is real,” says McDermott. “Step Into Swim ensures that kids learn to be competent swimmers, and parents learn to pay better attention when their kids are in the water.”

McDermott and Bollinger both credit PHTA president and CEO Sabeena Hickman with elevating the message of Step Into Swim and three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines with putting a face to that message.

“Rowdy has been vocal about raising awareness that mobile devices can be distractions,” Bollinger adds. “Teach your kids to swim early. Put down the phone when you’re at the pool and stay vigilant.”

Step Into Swim aims to make swimming fun and safe for all. That’s the bottom line.

Heritage’s giving origins

Philanthropy is an integral part of the Heritage family of companies. Heritage’s parent company, SRS Distribution, now owned by The Home Depot, has a long history of charitable outreach. In 2012, the company’s roofing arm created its charity, SRS Raise the Roof Foundation. Heritage Cares followed later for the pool and landscape industries to support local initiatives, veterans’ organizations, and disaster relief efforts.

Heritage Cares reflects SRS Distribution’s “long history of giving back to the community through its Raise the Roof Foundation,” according to McDermott. In fact, the Heritage brand name is an homage to SRS’ corporate roots, characterized by a legacy collection of family-owned companies that care.

Over the years, Heritage Cares has evolved to include 20 nonprofit partners which, as Bollinger says, creates “a passion for people that raises the stakes—raises the roof—on community involvement and giving back.”

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