Madison – Mayor Dave Cieslewicz today praised the generosity and civic contributions of Irwin and Robert Goodman as he announced that the two brothers have established a swimming scholarship fund. The fund will allow disadvantaged children and families to participate in swimming lessons and admission at Goodman Pool.

“One of my key priorities as mayor was to build a public pool that all Madisonians could enjoy,” said Cieslewicz. “Thanks to the generosity of the Goodman brothers and many others, Madison now has a tremendously successful community pool. This latest gift will ensure that all Madisonians have access to admission and swimming lessons at the Goodman Pool regardless of their income.”

In response to the need for partial and full financial support for use of Madison’s new community pool, the Irwin A. and Robert D. Goodman Swimming Scholarship Fund has been established at the Madison Community Foundation. The fund will provide approximately $50,000 annually in support for swimming lessons and Goodman Pool admission to families and children with financial need. The fund will also support lessons for disadvantaged youth to help prepare them for Red Cross Life Guard Training, with employment at Goodman Pool when recipients become certified.

The new fund will complement the highly successful Shelley Glover Fund, which has already raised over $100,000 through a variety of community fundraising efforts. This endowment fund helps to provide swimming lessons, lifeguard training and development of a swim team at the Goodman Pool. Donations may be made through www.foundationmadisonschools.com. In addition, the Madison Parks Foundation has raised $90,000 for swimming scholarships.

“The generous contribution of Irwin and Bob Goodman, when combined with the Shelly Glover Fund, will allow every family and child to use Goodman Pool regardless of income,” noted Cieslewicz.

# # # # #

Irwin A. Goodman and Robert D. Goodman Statement

September 12, 2006

One of the key priorities of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz during his first term was to build a community swimming pool that could be enjoyed by all Madisonians. We are thankful that we were in a position to help make the pool a reality and we are pleased with its success after the first year of operation. Madison’s first community pool has clearly become a center for bringing people of different economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds together--helping to unite us as one community to the benefit of all.

While the community pool has been lauded for its obvious success, we have become aware that swimming lessons and pool admission are challenging for underprivileged children and families to afford. To make the pool and its programs complete, we decided to establish a swimming lesson and admission scholarship program. Scholarships will be awarded by the Madison Parks Department through a committee that has been given the task of determining eligibility for awards.

The new scholarship fund is intended to be used in conjunction with the Shelley Glover Swimming Scholarship Fund. We encourage members of the community to continue contributing to the Shelley Glover Fund to make certain that, in combination with our new program, every child and family has access to Madison’s new community pool and its programs.

We have lived and worked in Madison for over seventy years, and we believe that this is the finest city imaginable. During our many years as business owners and residents, we have benefited from, and been buoyed by, innumerable kindnesses and generosities that have been shown to us by so many people. It is a privilege to be members of this very special community, and to be in a position to help support swimming lessons and community pool use for all.

We want to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Cieslewicz for his vision and leadership that made Madison’s first community pool possible.

Sincerely,

Irwin A. Goodman

Robert D. Goodman