The September 14th Open Water Swim at Lake Ray Hubbard Raises Crucial Dollars for Cancer Research Benefiting Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center
The 14th annual Swim Across America – Dallas open water swim, dedicated to making waves to fight cancer by raising funds for crucial cancer research through swimming events, is scheduled for Saturday, September 14, 2024, at Lake Ray Hubbard, located at 2055 Summer Lee Drive in Rockwall, Texas. Swimmers can choose between swimming ½–mile, 1-mile or 2-miles, or participate ini their own way by supporting the organization virtually with SAA My Way. Established in 2011, this family-friendly fun swim has raised more than $3 million for its local beneficiary, the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, helping to support groundbreaking cancer care in Dallas.
The Dallas swim brings together more than 450 swimmers, volunteers, spectators, and supporters, along with Olympians from near and far, all united in the mission to make a difference in the fight against cancer. The goal for this year’s swim is to raise $200,000, and participants are already rallying around this cause.
Leading the fundraising efforts is Team Fabulous, captained by cancer survivor Robyn Starnes, who has raised an incredible $14,300 so far. Robyn, diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014, has been cancer-free for nearly a decade and is passionate about giving back.
“This is my 3rd year participating in the 1-mile open water swim with Swim Across America, and I’m excited to make an even bigger fundraising SPLASH this year,” noted Robyn. “To celebrate 10 years of being cancer-free, I’m going BIG and hoping to raise $10,000. Everyone sadly knows someone who has been affected by cancer in some way — whether personally, a family member, friend, coworker, or even your favorite bartender. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be part of the generation that turns the corner in the fight? What if, after hearing ‘You have cancer’ — the three scariest words I’ve ever been told — the next three words you hear are, ‘And there’s hope.’”
Another top fundraising team, Team Fast Fins Elite, captained by Cody Lavoie, has raised more than $4,000 so far. Cody joined Swim Across America because he believes in the organization’s mission and wants to help give more families hope. “If you are able, please support Swim Across America by making a donation and help us reach our fundraising goal,” Cody urged.
Those interested in swimming or volunteering (land and water volunteers needed) or donating to support the cause, should visit swimacrossamerica.org/dallas.
New Programs Offer Fun, Fresh, and Exciting Ways for College Students to Make a Bigger Impact With Swim Across America
College Swimming Coaches Association of America, Inc. and Vasa are proud partners of College Cup Competition
CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 26, 2023 – Swim Across America (SAA) is pleased to announce two new programs aimed at college students and college swim teams who want to make a bigger impact in their community through leadership, fundraising, and friendly competition. The Swim Across America College Cup features 30+ collegiate, club and alumni teams and more than 1,000 participants all united to make waves in the fight against cancer through swimming. The second program is the SAA College Ambassadorprogram where 21 college swimmers and ambassadors have been selected to represent Swim Across America throughout the school year to help raise awareness on the importance of making waves to fight cancer. Both programs are supported through partnerships with College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and Vasa, the fitness training company for swimmers.
Swim Across America College Cup
Through December 1, 2023, college or college-affiliated swim teams will compete in the Swim Across America College Cup, a fundraising competition among collegiate teams in the U.S. Teams can participate by registering for one of Swim Across America’s open water charity swims, joining or starting a pool swim, or participating virtually through the SAA My Way program. Participants must be affiliated with a U.S-based college or university to be eligible to compete in the College Cup. Teams may consist of current college students, alumni or a mix of both, and can be as small as one person.
To date, more than 30 teams consisting of 1,000 participants are currently enrolled in the College Cup’s inaugural year. As the college swim season peaks, Swim Across America expects those numbers to increase and encourages teams, clubs and alumni groups who want to join to do so at swimacrossamerica.org/collegecup.
Members of the Emory University Swim and Dive team at the 2023 SAA-Atlanta event.
Members of the Providence College swim and dive teams at the 2023 SAA-Rhode Island event.
“One of the exciting aspects of the Swim Across America College Cup program is that it offers a new way for alumni to stay engaged with their college swim teams,” noted John O’Neill, head coach of the Providence College men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs and a long-time participant in Swim Across America open water swims. “It allows them to lead the next generation of athletes in the swimming world and instill a philanthropic mindset.”
Fundraising by the College Cup teams will support cancer research and clinical trials in the community in which teams register to swim. If teams are participating in a national pool swim, funds support the Swim Across America pediatric cancer research fund. Swim Across America offers 24 open water swims across the country and hundreds of pool swims each year.
The College Cup brings several exciting partnerships to Swim Across America, including the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and Vasa, a fitness and rehabilitation company focused on peak performance for swimmers, surfers and triathletes.
As part of their partnership, CSCAA will recognize the top individual College Cup fundraiser at their annual awards ceremony.
“We are thrilled to rejuvenate the partnership between Swim Across America and the CSCAA,” said Samantha Barany, executive director of CSCAA. “The philanthropic efforts of Swim Across America are impressive and impact nearly everyone in some way with the fight against cancer. The open water events hosted by Swim Across America are an excellent opportunity for our college teams and athletes to engage in charitable endeavors within a familiar and loved environment – the water. We will continue to find more ways to collaborate and I believe this is just the beginning!”
Vasa will award a Vasa Trainer Pro model to two participating teams. One will be awarded to the top College Cup fundraising team and the second will be awarded to a randomly selected team participating in the College Cup. All teams have the opportunity to win through their participation.
Swim Across America College Ambassadors
Swim Across America is also excited to announce another new college initiative, the Swim Across America College Ambassadors program. College Ambassadors will be the face of Swim Across America at their college or university and lead efforts to raise awareness of Swim Across America’s mission to fund cancer research, clinical trials and patient programs by hosting charity swims. College Ambassadors are passionate about Swim Across America and help engage their peers, promote the Swim Across America mission and brand, and encourage their local communities’ involvement.
Earlier this year, Swim Across America invited college students to apply for the Swim Across America College Ambassadors program. Applicants were asked to share why they are passionate about Swim Across America, highlight any previous leadership experience, and outline their aspirations for participating in the program. More than 30 applications were reviewed by a Swim Across America selection committee and 21 college students were selected to be College Ambassadors for 2023. Students selected represent colleges across the country, including University of South Florida, Roger Williams University and Northeastern University.
Beyond their role as ambassadors, these students also serve as team captains for teams participating in the College Cup or any Swim Across America event. To learn about the Swim Across America College Ambassador program, visit swimacrossamerica.org/ambassadors.
Swim Across America was founded in 1987 with its first open water event in Long Island Sound. Since that time, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $100 million to fight cancer. In its 36 years of making waves to fight cancer, more than 100,000 swimmers and 150 Olympians have swum the circumference of the earth three times, uniting a movement to fight cancer that has created a groundswell of support spanning all generations. Today, more than 24 communities hold open water swims and hundreds of charity pool swims each year, from Nantucket to under the Golden Gate Bridge, which support innovative cancer research, detection and patient programs.
Swim Across America’s funding of clinical trials for patients helped contribute to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda. In June of last year, a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline. The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America. More than 60 scientific grants are funded each year and there are now ten dedicated Swim Across America Labs at major institutions including: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, John Hopkins Medicine Atlanta, Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, Infusion Center at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and San Francisco, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, The Swim Across America Pediatric Research Lab at Columbia University Medical Center New York, and The Swim Across America Laboratory at Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.
About Swim Across America
Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more visitswimacrossamerica.org or follow on Facebook @SwimAcrossAmerica or on Instagram or Twitter @SAASwim.
About CSCAA
Founded in 1922, the CSCAA is the nation’s first professional coaching association for intercollegiate athletics. The CSCAA boasts more than 2,000 member coaches and assistant coaches, recognizes All-American swimmers and divers, NCAA record-breakers and Scholar All-America athletes and teams, as well as outstanding coaches and contributors, and helps oversee the welfare of collegiate swimming and diving. Learn more about CSCAA at cscaa.org.
About Vasa
Vasa empowers swimmers, surfers and triathletes to become stronger, better, faster in sports, fitness and injury rehab. Vasa offers specific equipment such as swim ergometers, trainers, sport benches and other accessories to provide athletes with safe, effective training methods. Founded by Rob Sleamaker, an acclaimed exercise physiologist and author, who has worked with Olympians, biathletes and triathletes as well as some of the world’s most respected swim coaches to reinvent their training practices. Learn more about Vasa at vasatrainer.com.
Read or watch local stories featuring the Swim Across America-Dallas community to learn about their impact. Learn more about the event and beneficiary, the Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trials Center (ICTC) at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, at swimacrossamerica.org/dallas.
Samantha Johanna (Sammie Jo) Porter Swim Across America – Atlanta Age: 24 Years supporting Swim Across America: 14
Samantha Johanna (Sammie Jo), now 24, was only 11 years old when she woke up with a swollen eye. At that age, it seemed typical to assume she had something stuck in her eye causing the inflammation and that it would be a relatively easy solution to solve.
However, after multiple doctor visits, a CT scan showed a pea-size hole in her left orbit and a diagnosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). LCH is a rare cancer condition where immune cells build up and form tumors or damage tissue, bone, and organs.
Sammie Jo, age 11, before her cancer diagnosis.
Sammie Jo didn’t let this devastating diagnosis stop her. An avid swimmer and child athlete, she was successfully treated and kept swimming throughout her medical issues.
In 2011, after emerging successfully from her treatment, she joined the cancer fundraising efforts with Swim Across America. This year, Sammie Jo is once again participating – this time in Atlanta. Though she has participated in several different swims, the Atlanta swim holds a special place in her heart.
“Swim Across America – Atlanta benefits the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where I work as a neonatal ICU nurse,” said Sammie Jo.
Sammie Jo swims at a Swim Across America event.
When asked what carried her through her difficult – and sometimes traumatic – treatments, Sammie Jo’s bright personality shines through.
“Through thick and thin, you just have to keep your head up,” noted Sammie Jo. “When I got my original diagnosis as a child, it was almost like a ray of sunshine in the dark tunnel because the doctors finally figured out what was wrong with me. But at the same time, I had to have major head surgery and that was scary.”
Sammie Jo had a layer of her skull shaved, which was then used to repair the hole in her orbit. She ended up with an incision from ear to ear. She and her family lived in Texas at the time and her first Swim Across America event after her recovery was the Swim Across America – Dallas event.
“I got involved in Swim Across America a year after I fought bone cancer,” said Sammie Jo. “I grew up swimming competitively, so when I heard that this open water swim was taking place in Dallas, I thought it was the perfect fit. While in college at Mizzou, I also participated in the Swim Across America – St. Louis event. I didn’t realize then that this organization, shortly after, would become my family and I wouldn’t change that for the world. I’m now so honored to be helping run the Junior Advisory Board for the Atlanta swim and on the Swim Across America Associate National Board!”
Sammie Jo with SAA-Dallas co-event directors, Michael Smit and Olympian Ryan Berube.
In high school, Sammie Jo swam for Lakeside Aquatic Club and was the 2015-2016 Scholastic All-American. At the University of Missouri, she was on the swim team where she was a stand-out ranked swimmer in the 100 and 200 free and won multiple event titles, and received an All-American honorable mention as a sophomore as part of the Missouri 400 relay team at the NCAA Championships.
The University of Missouri team at SAA-St. Louis.
Sammie Jo graduated in December of 2021 from the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing and happily accepted her dream job as a neonatal ICU nurse at Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the SAA-Atlanta’s local beneficiary.
Upon arriving in Atlanta, Sammie Jo knew she wanted to continue swimming and volunteering with Swim Across America, so joining the Atlanta swim was natural.
“I was a recent college graduate working my first job and had a lot of energy and passion for helping raise awareness and funds to fight cancer,” noted Sammie Jo. “I wanted to try to use my experience with swimming – and with cancer – to motivate other young swimmers to get involved.”
Sammie Jo dove right in and signed up to help spearhead the SAA-Atlanta Junior Advisory Board, where close to 20 middle and high school teens from throughout the Atlanta area work on specific fundraising programs for the swim, as well as swimming themselves. Sammie Jo also joined Swim Across America’s National Associate Board as a junior member.
Throughout the years, Sammie Jo has raised more than $20,000 for crucial cancer research with Swim Across America. She has participated as a swimmer and volunteer at Swim Across America events in Dallas, Charlotte, Seattle, St. Louis, and Atlanta.
If you are moved to support Sammie Jo, you can donate here.
Swim Across America has raised $100 million since its inception in 1987 to support cancer research and clinical trials across the U.S. Please contact Jeni Howard at jhoward@jhowardpr.com for media inquiries.
Robyn Starnes Swim Across America – Dallas 2 years supporting Swim Across America Age: 45
When Robyn Starnes was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014, the news hit her like a freight train.
“Even though I knew that it was a possibility, it still turned my world upside down. I felt broken, like something was wrong with me. I’d never known anyone my age that had battled cancer,” said Robyn.
Robyn Starnes
Now, nine years later, Robyn is a cancer survivor and has found a new home and strong community of supporters in Swim Across America. And she wears her surgery scar like a badge of honor.
“After my surgery, I couldn’t talk for a month, I gained a lot of weight, and I felt depressed. Knowing that my life would forever look different is what got me back into swimming; something I hadn’t done in decades but would eventually lead me to SAA. The scar I was so worried about in 2014 is my badge of honor in 2023.”
Robyn’s visit with a specialist was prompted by her primary doctor, who felt nodules during a routine exam. She feels lucky to have received thorough medical care and quick treatment for her thyroid cancer – one of the most treatable cancers.
Wearing her “survivor” badge, Robyn sought a way to get involved in activities that raised money for cancer research and survivorship support. A conversation with a friend introduced her to Swim Across America – Dallas.
Robyn after her thyroidectomy surgery
“Thanksgiving in 2021, I was talking with a friend’s sister about how we both grew up swimming competitively. She told me about “this thing called Swim Across America” and asked if I’d heard of it. As she explained what it was, I was floored because I felt like it combined everything I loved – swimming, community, and raising money for cancer research. I’m pretty sure I signed up for the 2022 Dallas open water swim the next day!” explains Robyn.
The rest is history. Robyn started asking friends, family members, and anyone in town to support her Swim Across America efforts. She quickly exceeded each fundraising goal she set, raising $4,500 ahead of her swim. Her journey felt as if it came full circle on event day.
“My first SAA swim was also the 8-year anniversary to the day of my thyroidectomy surgery. If that’s not fate telling me that I’d found my home, I don’t know what is.”
That day was particularly emotional for Robyn, as she felt the strength of the SAA community firsthand and listened to the doctors who are funded by the SAA-Dallas event.
“Over the years, I’d participated in local charities that raise funds for the cancer community, but I was moved to tears at my first SAA-Dallas event. Everyone there had a story and they wanted to share it with you. To me, it felt like a groundswell. That THIS was the group that was going to make things happen. Whether I was talking to a fellow swimmer, supporter, volunteer, Olympian, researcher, doctor, sponsor, or donor…everyone knew we were all part of the same mission.”
If you are moved to support Robyn Starnes, you can donate here.
Swim Across America has raised $100 million since its inception in 1987 to support cancer research and clinical trials across the U.S. Please contact Jeni Howard at jhoward@jhowardpr.com for media inquiries.
It is with sadness that we inform you that the beloved Quinn the Leonberger passed shortly after the 2018 Dallas swim. Quinn and his handler Peggy Walker were participants and supporters of the Swim Across America – Dallas event from the beginning. Quinn not only attended each open water and pool swim, but he was also a magnet for the media which helped spread the word about the importance of phase 1 fundraising and the great work being done at the Swim Across America Innovative Clinical Trial Center at BaylorScott&White. He and Peggy were introduced to the swim through the Cancer Center where Quinn was a pet therapy dog. Both he and Peggy had been touched by cancer so their support and participation was only natural. In total, Quinn raised $27,520 for the swim making him one of the event’s largest fundraisers.
His gentle spirit was a highlight for many survivors, participants and children who were usually not expecting to see a dog the size of Quinn but automatically smiled when they realize how gentle he was.
He was surrounded by his family, at home in his living room when he left. He will be deeply missed and we thank Peggy Walker for sharing him with the Swim Across America family.
Swim Across America 