LEWISTON — To preserve a pool, 17-year-old Chelsey Provencher figured swimmers ought to do what they do best: swim.

“I’ve been swimming since I was born,” said the Lewiston High School senior. She learned at the YWCA of Central Maine. She served as a lifeguard there. And she raced with the Twin Cities Swim Team for 10 years until her shoulder gave out.

So when the YWCA first announced its closure, and then a $1 million drive to remain open, Provencher hatched the idea of holding a swim-a-thon.

Swimmers at Provencher’s high school and two others — St. Dominic Academy and Edward Little High School — plan to spend four hours Saturday at the pool, swimming laps and accumulating pledged money.

Their goal is $2,500. If they reach the goal, they will receive another $2,500 in matching money from Modern Woodmen in Auburn.

“We want to do our part,” Provencher said.

Whatever money they raise will be added to a growing pool of donations.

Only three months ago, leaders of the 130-year-old agency announced that the YWCA’s debt and on-going costs were too big to continue. They set a closure date and began alerting employees, vendors, parents of children in the day care and lots of swimmers. 

Athletic directors at all three local high schools worried that their swim programs were in jeopardy. Provencher worried about her front desk job at the YWCA.

“I’m only 17,” she said. She had a car and insurance to pay for. What other job might she find?

Then she began thinking of her co-workers, parents with kids who would have a tough time paying their bills. And she thought of the high school teams.

Four days after their closure announcement, and after some big donations were offered, the YWCA’s Board of Directors declared they would continue. And they began a fundraising campaign aimed at erasing the debt and becoming more efficient.

Provencher took the challenge personally. So did the schools.

“We want to make sure they stay afloat,” said Jason Fuller, Lewiston High’s athletic director. “This shows that we’re willing to help out and do our part, too.”

On Monday, as his swim team met for the first time this season, each swimmer was handed information about the swim-a-thon.

“I have no idea how much profit this is going to raise, but I think it’s good for our kids to do it,” Fuller said. “We appreciate the YWCA allowing us to swim there.”

To Pam Gallant, the YWCA’s executive director, the event will both raise money and awareness for the ongoing effort. The agency is nearing the halfway point in its $1 million campaign.

On Monday, she estimated that about $430,000 has been raised so far.

“That’s a lot of money in a short time,” she said.

But there’s a long way to go. During Saturday’s event — planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — the YWCA will open its doors for people to come watch the swimmers. A concession stand will sell hot dogs and other food and drink. And there will be lots of opportunities for people to donate.

Gallant hopes to tweak the rivalry between the three schools by tracking the amount of money raised by each. However, the high-schoolers will be joined by small children, college students and other adults.

So far, Provencher is hopeful that the goal will be reached.

Though state athletics rules prevented the local swim teams from meeting until Monday, Provencher posted information about the event weeks ago on Facebook.

And there, the event was labeled a “swim-a-ton,” rather than a swim-a-thon.

“That was a typo,” she said. A co-worker at the YWCA liked the mistake. It seemed to better describe the event.

“We are going to swim a ton,” Provencher said.

dhartil@sunjournal.com