“Lifeguards are the key to the building. I got no lifeguards, I got no building. I can’t open the pool,” pleads Stephen Parks, Greenbelt Aquatic & Fitness Center (GAFC) supervisor.
As the community begins to recover from the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, more individuals are engaging in new and former exercise routines. As the number of swimmers in Greenbelt increases, the GAFC needs more lifeguards.
Recruiting Teens to Elders
Currently, there is a lifeguard shortage, regionally and nationally. Many parents held teens back from working outside the home for safety reasons in the past few years. The GAFC staff wants folks to know they are eager to train and hire lifeguards from 16 through retirement age. Applicants can be 15½ to take the class but must be 16 years old to be hired by the city.
All GAFC employees gain a free membership to the facility, as well as their paycheck. New lifeguards are required to take the Red Cross training course to be certified, which is offered at the GAFC. Once someone is hired and has served as a guard for a while, the GAFC will refund the cost of the course.
A Form of Life Fitness
Training to be a life guard requires physical fitness, the ability to exercise good judgment and the desire to provide public safety at the pool. Life guarding provides other learning opportunities – it’s a great way for young folks, veterans and retirees to learn to be leaders.
Lifeguard and pool manager David Jesser explains, “Young folks have an opportunity to serve in leadership roles, to have responsibilities, a decent paying job and gain a very nice reference for college and other jobs.”
As a retiree Jesser stated, “Lifeguarding gives you an opportunity to be doing something productive in your community, the extra pay is helpful to my pension, and it keeps my wife from strangling me.”
How to Apply
For more information call the GAFC at 301-397-2204 or apply online at the city’s Human Resources website: greenbeltmd.gov/government/city-administration/human-resources/current-job-openings.