Every 15 minutes 50 Americans are diagnosed with cancer*. This is a really sobering reality, but the good news is that every year millions of Americans are beating cancer through advancements in treatments.
Since 1987, Swim Across America has been offering open water and pool swim events that raise money for hospitals and researchers that pioneer new cures and treatments to defeat cancer. SAA is introducing Swim15 as a new opportunity for more swimmers to participate in the cause.
Swim15 is a virtual swim that anyone can do in any body of water. Simply register at swim15.org, then ask 15 people to support you with a $15 donation. Swim15 is being promoted June 1 through June 15th. Swim15 is not a competition and SAA does not track the results.
In the past two decades, SAA swims have generated more than $65 million for its beneficiaries. More than 100 Olympians including Michael Phelps, Jenny Thompson, Summer Sanders and Rowdy Gaines have joined more than 200,000 swimmers that have participated and fundraised for SAA. With a mission broadly supported by the Olympic community, it’s no surprise that Swim Across America is heralded as the Official Charity for Swimmers.
“We’ve received a lot of inquiries from people who want to support SAA, but aren’t able to attend one of our open water swims or don’t have a club in their area,” said Rob Butcher, Swim Across America CEO. “So we created this individual opportunity that removes barriers such as geography or being part of a club.”
“A 15-minute swim isn’t an intimidating amount of time,” continued Butcher. “Since we don’t track the results, you can do the swim on your own, with friends, with your dog, or wearing gear. Our scoreboard with Swim15 and all our swim benefits is raising money for our beneficiaries who are at the forefront of fighting cancer.”
You can register for Swim15 and find more details at Swim15.org.
*According to the CDC 1,685,210 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2016.
About Swim Across America
Swim Across America, established in 1987, operates 15 open water swims and pool swim benefits that raise money for hospitals and researchers that are pioneering new cures and treatments to defeat cancer. In the past two decades, SAA swims have generated more than $65M for its beneficiaries. More information can be found at swimacrossamerica.org.
Swimming news release is courtesy of SAA.
Thank you to everyone who wants to do this. I’m a cancer survivor, diagnosed in 1999, and it’s great to be “on this side of the grass,” in part because of the research funds over the last several decades.