Volunteers Rebuild Pool for Children

It’s still a little nippy for the 150 youngsters who live at Hathaway Children’s Services to enjoy one of their Christmas gifts--a completely rebuilt swimming pool.

The gift was a surprise to officials at the private nonprofit facility on Angeles Crest Highway. Their 20-year-old pool had fallen into disrepair and they knew it should be overhauled.

“It was getting old, the plaster was breaking,” said Gail Guglielmino, the director of development and communication at the school for emotionally disturbed children.

But the organization didn’t have the money to pay for an overhaul and was making repairs as needed.

When Walt Sweeney, owner of a Van Nuys pool service went out to repair the pool’s heater in October, he agreed that more was needed.

“It was just quite a mess,” Sweeney said.

So instead of making the spot repair, he took it upon himself to pull together a group of local and national companies to strip and rebuild the pool with donated materials and labor.

“They started making calls and before we knew it, this whole group of people had come together and donated everything we needed,” Guglielmino said. “It was just unbelievable. They just descended on the place.”

He also arranged for a group of independent pool workers to chip in and pay to plaster the pool.

“Everybody was just on the stick,” said Nancy Sweeney, Walt’s wife. “It was, ‘You need it? You got it. It will be express-overnighted to you.’ ”

After three weeks of calls and gathering commitments from colleagues, Sweeney and other workers spent about 14 days working on the rebuild. During that time, they got to know some of the children.

“They were standing by the fence every day, asking, ‘When can we go swimming?’ ” Sweeney said.

This week, when he went out to Hathaway to make the last checks on the pool, one of the students gave him an ornament the children made for him: The glass piece depicted an angel and the words “Joy to the World.”

Sweeney doesn’t see himself as a hero. “It was all because of the kids,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “If you see the kids, it’s tough to say no.”

Most of the children, ages 5 to 18, who live at the facility have been emotionally, physically or sexually abused. Guglielmino said for them to know people are doing something to help them, and not just out of obligation, makes them feel cared for.

“It makes them feel valued,” she said.