VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Pool Scouts, the leading national pool service franchise, is ramping up its commitment to water safety in 2025 by expanding its partnership with Hope Floats Foundation. This year, all Pool Scouts franchise locations will participate in the fundraising campaign, reinforcing the brand’s dedication to drowning prevention and swim lesson accessibility for children in need.

 Since 2021, Pool Scouts has raised $82,000 for Hope Floats, and this year, the brand is setting a $20,000 fundraising goal to push total donations over the $100,000 mark. Helping to drive the effort is a partnership with Step Into Swim, the drowning prevention initiative of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance. Step Into Swim will match donations up to $20,000, allowing Hope Floats to provide swim lesson scholarships for hundreds of children in need. This concerted effort from Pool Scouts locations is especially impactful during National Water Safety Month in May, when children and families are preparing to enjoy pools, beaches, and waterparks.

 “At Pool Scouts, we take water safety seriously, and we’re incredibly proud to see our entire system come together for this initiative,” said Dave Mele, president of Pool Scouts. “By reaching our $20,000 goal this year, we will have contributed over $100,000 to Hope Floats, ensuring even more children gain access to life-saving swim lessons.”

Mele emphasizes the local impact of Pool Scouts' fundraising efforts, highlighting the franchise’s commitment to community involvement. “One of the best parts of this campaign is knowing that the funds raised by each franchise will support children in their own local communities,” he said. “Every dollar we contribute helps provide kids with the skills they need to be safe around water, and that’s something we take great pride in as a brand.”

 “Step Into Swim is incredibly proud to partner with Pool Scouts and the Hope Floats Foundation during National Water Safety Month, ,” said Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, PHTA Vice President of Partnerships & Development, who leads Step Into Swim. “Hope Floats and Step Into Swim share the same goal: to end the childhood drowning epidemic through increased access to swim lessons. Having industry support from PHTA members like Pool Scouts makes fulfilling our mission that much easier. Every dollar raised leads to more children learning to swim, more families feeling confident in and around water, and more lives potentially saved.”.

 Drowning remains the leading cause of accidental death among children, according to the CDC, but formal swim lessons can reduce the risk by 88%. Pool Scouts’ contributions help fund these vital lessons, directly benefiting families in the communities the franchise serves.

 National Water Safety Month serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of water safety education, especially as families prepare for summer activities. Pool Scouts continues to uphold its mission of providing high-quality pool services while actively giving back to the communities it serves.

Those interested in donating to the Pool Scouts/Hope Floats campaign for National Water Safety Month can do so here: https://givebutter.com/poolscouts2025.

 To learn more about franchise opportunities with Pool Scouts, visit: https://1851franchise.com/poolscouts.

 ABOUT POOL SCOUTS:

Virginia Beach, VA-based Pool Scouts is a premier pool service franchise focused on delivering a quality, consistent brand experience while providing pool cleaning, maintenance and minor repair services at residential properties. Technicians are trained in testing, monitoring, treating and servicing pools and can provide ongoing service as well as help at the beginning and end of the summer season. With more than 80 territories across 18 states, Pool Scouts offers a great opportunity as a low-cost franchise in the pool services industry with available territories across the United States. For more information or franchising opportunities, visit http://poolscoutsfranchise.com.

 ABOUT BUZZ FRANCHISE BRANDS

Founded in 2012 and based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Buzz Franchise Brands is a fast-growing multi-brand franchising organization that builds companies that get people talking. The organization's first brand, Mosquito Joe, was sold to Neighborly in late 2018 after growing to almost 300 locations. Buzz Franchise Brands currently operates pool cleaning and maintenance company Pool Scouts, residential cleaning company Home Clean Heroes, swim lesson company British Swim School and premium outdoor lighting provider Wonderly Lights.. The company has been named among the Inc 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies as well as Inc's Best Workplaces list for several years in a row. For more information about Buzz Franchise Brands, visit https://www.buzzfranchisebrands.com/.

 ABOUT THE POOL & HOT TUB ALLIANCE AND STEP INTO SWIMTM

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 committed to safe swim education and drowning prevention. By investing in the next generation of swimmers through learn-to-swim programs, 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 HOPE FLOATS FOUNDATION

Hope Floats Foundation is the nonprofit partner helping swim schools nationwide build sustainable scholarship programs, increasing access to swimming lessons for low-income families by using local funds to support local kids.  For more information about becoming a Hope Floats partner, starting a scholarship program at your swim school, to make a donation, or to apply for a scholarship, visit www.hopefloats.foundation.