Today’s ChooseDay Tuesday. I picked Will Swim For Food, which my friend Carolina told me about.
Will Swim For Food is proof that any activity can be used to raise money for a good cause. Once a year, usually in early winter, the organization does a Polar Bear Plunge to raise money for various food charities. Actually, it’s far more than a “plunge”; participants swim one mile around the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in water temperatures that usually hover around the 50-degree mark.
Started as a fundraised for Second Harvest Food Bank, Will Swim For Food has expanded to other cities besides Santa Cruz and to other charities. For the most recent swim, participants could raise funds for a number of hunger organizations, including the New Jersey Food Bank and Masbia Food Kitchen, both of which are providing meals for Hurricane Sandy victims.
Even though the swim has passed, a number of the participants had not yet hit their goal yet, so I picked one who was donating to the New Jersey Food Bank and donated $10 in Carolina’s name. I imagine this woman is going to wonder who the heck we both are!
Will Swim for Food launched in 2010 when a Plantronics employee, Nick Alaga, didn’t have enough funds to help with the company’s effort to donate a ton of food to Second Harvest’s Holiday Food Drive, so he decided to hold a little fundraiser and decided to ask friends to sponsor him on his swim. Not only did some of them sponsor him, they joined him in his swim. In three short years, the event has grown and raised more each year. It’s reminder that every person can make a difference and that there’s no telling where one act of generosity can lead the ripple effect it will have.
April 30: Will Swim For Food
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