SAA Family Tree (June)

Posted on June 3, 2016June 3, 2016 Posted in Events, Family Tree, News, UncategorizedLeave a comment

SAA Family Tree is a monthly focus on stories that display the impact all the members of the Swim Across America family have both locally and nationally. If you have a story or link you’d like to share, please send here.

An incredible New York Times story on the Levy family featuring Wills Levy, a bone marrow transplant donor that helped save his brother Andrew’s life. Wills participated at the SAA – SMAC Out Cancer Pool Swim in May.
A great feature on the 10th anniversary of the Greenwich-Stamford swim featuring proud participants Craig Lawrence, Victoria Dinkel and the Bass family.
SAA beneficiary Memorial Sloan Kettering and its pediatrics department was the focus of a popular ‘Humans of New York’ series that raised a lot of awareness and funds for MSK.
Emily Crabtree of SAA – Chicago and the swim were highlighted in the Rush University Medical Center annual report.
Greenwich-Stamford swimmer Julia Neri was featured locally for being named valedictorian among other notable achievements.
Swim Across America was the Event Spotlight feature in SwimSwam Magazine’s Olympics Preview Issue. Pick up a copy and see how great the 4-page spread turned out!

Fun and Inspiration at SMAC Out Cancer

Posted on May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 Posted in #DefeatCancer, Events, Fundraising, Pool Swims, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The fourth annual SMAC Out Cancer Pool Swim was another great success, raising over $84K and counting at the San Mateo Athletic. This year’s swim featured 11 fun events, seven Olympians, and honored multiple heroes in the fight against cancer.

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The four-year total raised by SMAC Out Cancer stands at an incredible $296K to fund cancer research at beneficiaries UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. Congrats to event director Diana Thomas for putting together another great event this year.

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The 2016 swim was named in memory of Jim Keller, who lost his battle with cancer in January. Keller was regarded as a brilliant and caring man that was a huge supporter of the San Mateo Athletic Club. He’s pictured here with Olympian Heather Petri in 2015.

The impact of the event was evident when the Olympians got to meet Wills Levy, a young hero that saved his brother’s life with a bone marrow transplant. The incredible and moving story of his younger brother Andrew’s battle with a rare and deadly cancer and unlikely recovery is featured in this emotional New York Times Magazine article. Olympians at the event included: Craig Beardsley, Mike Bruner, Susan Heon Preston, Roque Santos, Glenn Mills, Ellen Estes and Christine Magnuson.

26253480614_15a0e5bb09_k — Wills Levy (center) with Olympians at SMAC

The event features fun events not usually associated with SAA pool swims including an aqua aerobics boot camp, and out-of-water fitness challenge and a dance party. Check out the whole photo library to see all the breathtaking images from the event. If you’re interested in starting a pool swim in your community, learn more here.

SAA on the Scene

Posted on May 2, 2016May 3, 2016 Posted in #DefeatCancer, Events, Fundraising, Labs, News, SAA on the Scene, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Members of the Swim Across America family are active in their communities. SAA on the Scene shares stories from the “dry side” of our events where the SAA mission to make waves to defeat cancer is honored and recognized. Feel free to send submissions for future posts here.

Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) Discovery Celebration
Harvard Club (New York) – April 14

Greenwich-Stamford co-chairs Michele Graham and Lorrie Lorenz, and SAA Director of Events Craig Beardsley were in attendance to learn how dollars granted to ACGT are defeating cancer.

Swim Across America AYA Lounge One-Year Anniversary Celebration
Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa) – April 26

SAA – Tampa Event Director Rob Shapiro and committee members Alicia Reyes-Shapiro, Tony Scicchitano, Janice Scicchitano and Olivia Fridgen participated in the one-year anniversary of the Adolescent and Young Adult Lounge opening. We profiled AYA in our lab series profile.

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SAA – Long Island Sound Swim Kickoff Event
Larchmont Yacht Club – April 27

The 24th annual Long Island Sound Open Water Swim Kickoff event took place on April 27th. Beneficiary representatives from Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Columbia University Medical Center and Cancer Support Team attended the event. Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD (of MSK) and Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD (of CUMC) spoke at the event sharing breakthroughs being made to defeat cancer in their labs.

2016 Larchmont Kickoff

Craig Beardsley (SAA Director of Events), Jean Fufidio, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – LIS chair and event director)

2016 Larchmont Kickoff3

Robyn Gartrell MD, Dr. Andrew Kung, MD PhD, Lucille Winton, Katie Shields, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD PhD, Dr. Sadna Budhu PhD, Dr. James Garvin MD PhD, Tony Sibio (SAA – Larchmont chair and event director)

SAA Tee Time in Central Florida

Posted on May 2, 2016May 3, 2016 Posted in 7-Eleven FOA, Corporate Partners, Events, Fundraising, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The first event of the calendar year featuring Swim Across America as an official charity of the 7-Eleven Franchise Owners Association took place on April 6 in Orlando. The weather was beautiful for the 7-Eleven Central Florida Franchise Owners Association Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Swim Across America (Tampa) and Moffitt Cancer Center.

The SAA family was well represented with Craig Beardsley, Craig Cordell (SAA – Tampa), Alison Pease (SAA – Chicago), Olympian Rowdy Gaines, Susan Davis (Nestlé), and Mark Gramlich (Kellogg’s) in attendance. The tournament successfully raised $20,711.00 for the SAA – Tampa which benefits the Tampa Moffitt Cancer Center.

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SAA Lab Doctor speaks to Montclair Pool Swim Students

Posted on April 1, 2016April 4, 2016 Posted in Events, Pool SwimsTagged cancer, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Pool Swims, SAA Labs, swimmingLeave a comment

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The 3rd Annual Swim to Win Against Cancer Pool Swim took place earlier this year in Montclair, N.J., featuring student-athletes from Montclair High School and Newark Academy.

The students participating in the annual swim challenge were lucky enough to meet and participate in a Q&A session with Dr. Taha Merghoub, visiting from an SAA beneficiary, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Merghoub is also the Co- Director of the Ludwig Collaborative and Swim Across America Lab at MSK. Sarah Dillon Soden, Associate Director, Annual Giving at MSK also spoke at the event.

SAANewarkAcad1.29 .jmichaud-5-X3 — Dr. Taha Merghoub of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

The students learned how the nearly $50,000 they’ve raised over the last three years at their pool swim challenge has helped fund the SAA Lab where Dr. Merghoub investigates the pathogenesis and treatment of melanoma.

A special thanks goes out to Montclair High School Swim Coach Ed Koenigsfest and Newark Academy Swim Coach Billy Blomn for supporting SAA and creating a great pool swim challenge where the competition focuses on a common goal.

Learn more about starting an SAA Pool Swim in your community here.

How Far Have We Come?

Posted on March 26, 2014 Posted in Events, Fundraising, UncategorizedTagged 2014, america, cross country, distance, family, fight cancer, impact, miles, million, numbers, open water swim, speedo, swim across america, swim farLeave a comment

SAA By the Numbers

Shake off the ice and snow- spring is officially upon us and we’ve awoken from the deep freeze! To get everyone back in gear and excited for this year’s schedule of open water events (starting May 4^th in Atlanta!!) we figured we’d run some numbers. Haven’t you ever wondered just how far we actually have swum across America at this point?! Let’s find out!!

We went a looooooong way in 2013…
The mileage our swimmers have covered in open-water events alone is impressive. In 2013, we collectively swam 5447.5 miles in open-water events, meaning last year, we swam across America about 1.82 times!

We have swam back and forth a few times…
Unimpressed so far? Not for long! Since our inception, assuming all of our swimmers each swam an average of 1 mile each, we’ve swum across America about 10 times. Yes- 10 times across the country since our first open-water swim!

We’re making an impact…
While the miles we’ve covered alone are cause for celebration, the funds we’ve raised for cancer research deserves its own look. The amount we’ve raised since our first swim is over $50 million, which equals over 2,501,250 pairs of Speedo Vanquisher goggles, 1,001,001 women’s swimsuits or 156,274 pool lane lines.

It’s all thanks to you…
And get this: we’ve had about 30,000 swimmers in our open-water events since our beginning. If we assume equal numbers of American men and women with average wingspans of both genders, this means that holding hands, our Swim Across America family would stretch about 31.84 miles long!

Let’s do it again!
How many times will we make it across America this season? You can help us beat last year’s collective distance and add to our Swim Across America family by registering for a 2014 swim!

Twin Swims

Posted on September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 Posted in Events, UncategorizedTagged beach, cancer, family swim, narragansett, ocean, olympians, open water swim, rhode island, seattle, september 7th, swim across america, swimmersLeave a comment

For the past couple years, Swim Across America has hosted two late summer swims on the same day- at opposite ends of the country! The Rhode Island and Seattle open water events are twin swims, and like any set, they’ve got a lot in common but also have distinct personalities. Since we’re not ones for sibling rivalry, we decided to spotlight both swims to connect our SAA family across the continent!

Rhode Island: East Coast

Over on the Atlantic side, the smallest state in the union hosts one heck of a swim. Rhode Island’s SAA swim is marked by a mix of intense energy and intimacy, and is a blast to participate in.

Walk onto the beach as the sun rises, and our DJ will be playing “Party Rock Anthem.” The Narragansett venue attracts the most college swimmers at an SAA event in the country, so most of our top fundraisers in the Ocean State are still students. (As of this posting, Providence College has been holding steady as the top team fundraiser with over $14,000!)

Not to be outdone by the youthful exuberance of the college kids, local Rhode Islanders have been incredibly dedicated to SAA. The family is small- watch for how many locals chat up RI-born-and-bred Olympian Clara Walker- and everyone knows someone who’s been treated at beneficiary Women and Infants, making this swim a very personal one.

With both a half-mile and full mile distance, swimmers can choose their challenge at Roger Wheeler State Beach. Rhode Islanders commonly describe themselves as small but strong, but there’s nothing little about the life and heart emerging from the Narragansett waters as SAA swimmers run up on the beach!

Seattle: West Coast

Out West, Seattle starts the summer sendoff in style with their swim off Mercer Island in Lake Washington. Always prepared to innovate, Seattle is one of the first cities in the SAA family to host a BREAKOWT clinic, which is run in conjunction with the Michael Phelps Swim School and preps swimmers for open water events.

The Mercer Island swim has got something for everyone with a 50-meter kids’ splash, ½ mile and 2 mile swim. The entire family has almost no excuse to stay out of the water, and it seems that they won’t! SAA Seattle is hosting 37 (yes, 37!) tribute teams this year, so Lake Washington will be teeming with powerhouse teams!

The most unique aspect of Seattle’s event is that it’s the only one in the nation that has a corporate matching system. Through the McAdams Wright Ragen Matching Program, a bonus will be donated in the name of the top ten teams if they raise a combined $120,000. It’s a generous and original program that proves that SAA Seattle leads the way in shaping unique events.

Benefitting the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, this West Coast swim’s goal is to raise three times as much as its twin swim, but that hardly takes away from the family-reunion feel of the event. Pancakes on the beach attract the likes of Olympians Ariana Kukors, Jeff Float, Dana Kirk, and Rick Colella, to name a few. That familial spirit hangs on the beach with the “why I swim” flags in Seattle, and considering the innovation that has come to define SAA Seattle, it makes for a vibrant event full of surprises and above all, life.

Two oceans. Two events. One cause. Like any set of twins, our swims in Seattle and Rhode Island are connected in spirit, and serve to connect all who’ve been touched by cancer. We’ll see you on the beach- you choose the coast!