It takes work to raise money for any cause. It usually doesn’t take physical work, though. The Voorhees Sting Rays of Voorhees Swim Club, however, worked for every cent they collected at their Swim-A-Thon on July 24.
“It was a great event,” Marnie Joyce, a parent and board member of VSC, said. “The kids had a blast and it all went to a good cause.”
The swimmers collected pledges from friends and family over the course of a few weeks. Then, they took to the pool to earn those pledges.
“The kids were swimming lap after lap to raise the money,” Joyce said. “There were so many kids in the pool just going back and forth. It was really amazing to see.”
The Voorhees Sting Rays are made up of four different age groups: 8 and under, 9–12, 13–14 and 15–18. Each swimmer worked with coach Theresa DeCoursey to come up with a goal for their laps. Some of the older swimmers swam up to 100 laps, while the younger swimmers swam up to 50.
“All the swimmers were pushing themselves during the event,” Joyce said. “That was part of the fun. The kids were cheering each other on to reach their goals.”
This isn’t the first year VSC hosted a charity Swim-A-Thon. This was the first time the swim benefited the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society School and Youth Programs, though.
“In years past, we decided on the charities based on the needs of the members from the swim team,” Joyce said. “This year, we decided to give back to a charity that we hadn’t done before.”
In total, the Swim-A-Thon raised $1,120 for the charity. The money will be used to fund research for a cure and to ensure blood cancer patients have access to treatment.
“We are very proud of the money we were able to raise,” Joyce said. “It was also a great learning experience for the kids. It showed them that they can make a difference if they choose to.”
The Swim-A-Thon also served as a way to show the swimmers that they can accomplish anything they put their mind to, according to Joyce.
“Unlike a lot of other charity fundraisers, this one gave the kids the chance to really put forth some extra effort to raise the money,” she said. “The kids set a goal for themselves and then had to reach the goal.”
Joyce is now looking to the future to figure out what the next Swim-A-Thon will have in store.
“We will definitely host another Swim-A-Thon,” Joyce said. “We’re not sure when or for what charity the next one will go toward, but we always want to do our part in raising money. It’s a great event and we can’t thank the swimmers and parents enough for making it happen.”
