Student at Goldfish Swim School – Wexford wins international contest

At the start of the year, Goldfish Swim School teamed up with Big Life Journal to provide tools and resources to help make dreams come true in 2022. Families were encouraged to pick up vision board templates at their local Goldfish Swim School or visit the ‘Goldfish Dream Big Vision Board’ landing page, featuring fun and creative elements needed to make a great vision board, and share their vision boards on social media for their chance to win big prizes.

One of the winners of the international Dreams Come True in 2022 contest takes lessons at Goldfish Swim School – Wexford. James McCandless, 5, was selected among hundreds of submissions on social media as a grand prize winner. On his vision board, he listed out dreams of becoming a chef, nurse/doctor, champion swimmer, rock climber and most of all, a lifeguard. But first, his goal is to learn how to read.

James received special gifts related to his 2022 dreams and accepted his monetary prize during a formal check presentation as part of a celebratory event at the school. According to a news release from the swim school, James is known for brightening everyone’s day at Goldfish, and the Wexford team is honored to see him named a grand prize winner.

“The entire Goldfish Wexford team celebrated upon learning that James was one of only two winners in this Dreams Come True campaign. You couldn’t stop the crew from cheering,” said Carol Grande, general manager of Goldfish Swim School – Wexford. “He is such a joy to teach. He is enthusiastic, hard-working, and has a passion for everything safety and swimming-related. James told us he would like to be a lifeguard one day, so we are saving him a uniform for use in 10 years.”

James was among four grand prize winners selected across North America – two children and two team members, each receiving special gifts and $2,022 to put toward achieving their dreams.

“This has been such a fun and rewarding campaign,” said Chris McCuiston, CEO and co-founder of Goldfish Swim School, who participated in the campaign alongside co-founder Jenny McCuiston. “While our core mission is and always will be teaching water safety, we play a critical role in developing kids and team members both in the pool and out. It was amazing to see all the big dreams and vision board submissions, and know we could play a small role in helping those dreams come true. It’s our hope that through this campaign we were able to help build confidence, encourage and motivate little fish and team members to keep dreaming big.”

Throughout the campaign, Goldfish Swim School featured dozens of vision boards from across North America on its social media channels, gifting surprise and delight prizes to featured ‘Golden Dreamers.’ The brand’s ambassadors, including World Champion Swimmer & Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Murphy, Four-Time Olympic Swimming Medalist & First African American World Record Holder Cullen Jones and Goldfish Swim School’s official pediatrician Dr. Molly O’Shea of Birmingham Pediatrics + Wellness Center also made special appearances, sharing encouragement and ‘finspiration.’