Lindbergh Pool is hosting a swim-a-thon 7 a.m.-10 a.m. March 26 to help raise funds toward the $60,000 needed to keep open the Lindbergh and Hazen pools.

Lindbergh lifeguards and swim instructors are taking up the fight and collecting donations and sponsorships. Some are planning to swim their personal best distance; others are trying for a distance of three miles.

Their goal is to raise $6,000. As of Tuesday, they had raised $3,000.

Organizers are accepting donations over the phone and at Lindbergh Pool.

“There is no amount too small; anything they can do would be great,” said Bryce Jensen, Lindbergh Pool supervisor.

This is just one of the efforts under way to save the Renton pools. The community has until July to raise the $60,000 to keep both pools open.

Chris Carlson, organizer of Renton Pools Community group, is coordinating fundraising efforts. He said that when he last checked, there was about $3,200 raised and in the Renton School District account.

The group has been using flyers to solicit donations at swim meets, pass-the-hat tactics and swim-a-thons. It is planning a fund-raiser in conjunction with the Renton Civic Theater’s next production, “Here on the Flight Path,” the beginning of April.

This year the school district could not afford to make up the difference between the revenues from the pools and the expenses. It costs around  $900,000 to operate both Lindbergh and Hazen pools.

“I don’t want to do this again next year; this is a transition,” said Carlson about community fund-raising.

He is hoping that with a refined business plan for the pools, they will be sustainable through revenues, supplemented with advertising.

Carlson wants the community to know that the pools are still open today and if you don’t see a service listed that you want to use, suggestions are welcome.

Renton Pools Community group continues to meet every other week at Hazen High School.

For more information visit the Renton Pools Community Facebook page.