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On any given weekend, more than a dozen Harvard undergraduates gather at Blodgett Pool — not to practice, but to host an adaptive swim program that seeks to put smiles on the faces of children with neurological disabilities.

The program, known as Project Swim, was started by the Hensch family when the current co-president Nicola H. Hensch ’26 was still in high school. Hensch mainly worked with students with Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes a loss in motor skills and language.

But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Project Swim. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Harvard branch of Project Swim had to pause its sessions. Upon the program’s return, volunteers struggled to find interested families. Hensch recruited his previous students and helped expand the program’s participant base, which now includes children with autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome.

The sessions, staffed by undergraduates on Harvard’s aquatic water polo and swim and dive teams, aim to increase the children’s comfort in the water.

“It really depends on the level of the kids, but if they can swim, or if they’re afraid of water, we'll just go. We’re working on a one to one ratio of volunteers to swimmers,” Hench said. “We just try and have fun.”

“We also try to teach the parents a little bit about how they can get involved in working in a pool by themselves with their kids, and how to keep them safe,” Hensch added.

Hensch’s parents, Harvard biology professor Takao K. Hensch ’88 and Michela Fagiolini, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, study therapies for Rett syndrome. The couple consistently involves their three children in the program’s fundraising, including by running the Boston Marathon.

The program has grown to more than 80 children on its mailing list but only trains approximately 20 students across two sessions to maintain a one-to-one volunteer to swimmer ratio. Each session attracts a range of participants, from new families to those who have been coming regularly for two years.

The volunteers use floatable devices and focus on consistent communication and engagement with the children, many of whom face difficulties in verbally communicating.

Hensch said “it means a lot” to see the growth of his first students, some of whom are returning students who started the program 10 years ago.

Raglan E. Ward ’26, a former athlete and current manager of the men’s swim and dive team, has volunteered for Project Swim since the program recommenced after the Covid-19 pandemic. He currently serves as its treasurer and said he chooses to invest his time in the program because “it’s a great opportunity to contribute to my community.”

“There’s something about the water. It’s not something you get to do every day, it just gives new context. It’s a new environment,” Ward said. “It certainly seems to be a near universal level of joy.”

Today, the program’s sign-up slots for families are filled every single week. According to Hensch, the “limiting factor” for the program’s expansion is the number of volunteers. With more volunteers, he said, more children could be accommodated at each session.

“It’s so easy to go through a day, or to go through a week, and to only think about yourself, or to only think about close things that materially affect your immediate life or lifestyle,” Ward said. “I think giving a portion of your time to others is a really important part of being in a community.”

“When I see them smile, it makes me smile,” Ward added. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with them because it gives me a different perspective and gets outside of that sphere where we just think about ourselves and our own needs.”