An inaugural swim at Founders Park in Islamorada is seeking participants and volunteers in an effort to raise $50,000 for early-stage cancer research at Miami Cancer Institute.
Set for April 9, Swim Across America’s Islamorada Open Water Swim will make waves to fight cancer in the community. Glenn and Susan Latham and Lisa and Bob Coakley are helping organize the local event with Swim Across America. It all started with a group of women tennis players at Founders Park who started swimming for additional exercise at the beach and around the jetty.
“We opened it up to other people, and we ended up having a guy who joined us who was involved with Swim Across America events for a long time. We just got to talking. Founders Park is an absolute jewel for this kind of swim,” Susan said.
Swim Across America is a nonprofit that holds swim events throughout the country to support cancer research at hospitals and institutions, and says it has so far donated nearly $100 million to fund cancer research and clinical trials. According to Swim Across America, 100% of grants it issues are applied only to approved clinical trials or research projects.
Lisa Coakley looks back at the 1990s when she and her husband, Bob, used to swim down the Hudson River in New York to raise money for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Lisa said her husband has been involved with Swim Across America events for 30 years.
“Funding for Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Swim Across America Lab, which has had stunning success in creating a cancer immunotherapy vaccine, has changed the way many cancer treatments have evolved,” she said.
The open-water, noncompetitive swim will feature a half-mile and 1-mile course. Special guests at the event will include Olympians and representatives from Swim Across America and the Miami Cancer Institute. Susan Latham said the goal is to get 50 swimmers signed up for the inaugural swim.
“That’s our goal. There’s a good chance we’ll have a lot more than that,” she said.
All swimmers pledge to raise a minimum based on age. Participants 18 and over are asked to raise a minimum of $500, and participants under 18 are asked to raise a minimum of $200. “WaveMakers” raise at least $1,000, regardless of age.
A person can swim alone or on a team. Many colleagues and college alumni will form teams, or teams may be formed in honor or memory of a loved one. All team members are still required to meet their individual fundraising minimums based on their age, distance or WaveMaker status.
More than $34,000 has been raised so far en route to a $50,000 goal.
The swim starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 9 at Founders Park beach area with check-in at 7:30 a.m. A post event celebration will happen at 10 a.m.
Visit swimacrossamerica.org for more information.
