New Canaan, CT- November 11, 2019: 16 year old Maddie Haley, a high school junior and swimmer at New Canaan YMCA and New Canaan High School in Connecticut, is hoping to save lives by making swimming more accessible to underprivileged children. In the three years since Maddie formed Caps for a Cause, she has gone out to communities all over her state spreading the word about water safety and collecting and distributing gently used swim gear. Caps for a Cause has donated hundreds of swimsuits, caps, and goggles to learn to swim programs of YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and after-school programs in Connecticut. She collects donations by placing community collection boxes and gathering unclaimed lost and found items from YMCAs, libraries, and other organizations.
“Someone at one of the local community YMCAs said that a lot of people there don’t swim because they don’t have a swimsuit, or they swim in their street clothes. I want to change that,” Maddie said. “My hope is that by making swim gear available, we can at least overcome one barrier to water safety.”
Contact: Maddie Haley
[email protected] www.capsforacause.net
P.O. Box 1511, New Canaan, CT 06840
“Caps for a Cause is a great help to underprivileged kids in our communities. With multiple barriers preventing these kids from swimming, Caps for a Cause is helping make equipment not one of them.”
– Nick Dionne, Aquatics Director, Northern Middlesex YMCA, Middletown, Connecticut
“I would like to thank Maddie Haley for donating suits, caps, and goggles to our YMCA. We have already given out the suits to kids that are in desperate need.”
—Kevin Quill, Head Swim Coach, Fairfield YMCA, Fairfield, Connecticut