Lifeguard Shortage Hurts the Lansing Y

Lifeguard Shortage Hurts the Lansing Y

All around the nation this summer, swimming pools and beaches were forced to limit hours of operation—or close down completely for days on end. Despite higher-than-ever demand for recreational swimming to beat the heat and swim lessons for young children, venues haven’t been able to operate at full service.

The culprit? A nationwide shortage of lifeguards.

There are many reasons why lifeguards are in short supply: from the pandemic’s early pool closures and cancelation of lifeguard certification classes, to the record-low unemployment rates over the past few years, it stands to reason that lifeguard jobs are harder to fill. It doesn’t help that lifeguarding is often viewed by youth and young adults as a boring summer job, lacking the “resume fodder” of an office internship or the inflated pay of certain retail positions.

With four pools inside our three branch locations, the Lansing YMCA is feeling the pain of this national problem. Our lifeguard numbers have dropped to a level where we are facing dire decisions: reducing pool hours and limiting our swim lesson capacity. These possibilities cut to the heart of the Y’s missional priorities of healthy living, youth development, and social responsibility—and we don’t take them lightly.

This is why we are making a community-wide appeal for lifeguards. We need to hire at least ten (10) new lifeguards in the next several weeks to maintain our pool hours and water safety classes. We’ll be scheduling a lifeguard certification training in early November for anyone wanting to obtain or renew theirs (link coming soon!), and the job description is posted online. Click here to go directly to our job application.

Being a lifeguard at the Lansing YMCA is so much more than a job; it’s a meaningful and rewarding way to make a difference in this community. If you or someone you know would benefit from joining our team and keeping our pools open and safe, act today!