Young men, senior citizens, women and children, aunts, uncles and oncologists. It’s a diverse group of people who are expected to show up for Friday’s Swim Across America Motor City Mile at Belle Isle Beach in Detroit. One thing they all have in common is hope, and a desire to help support other people diagnosed with cancer and the research that’s going on to create new treatments at the University of Michigan Rogel University Cancer Center in Ann Arbor.
“This will be our sixth year,” said Patrick Weiss of Sterling Heights, who has always been involved in swimming and got involved with the group that has chapters across the country raising money for local efforts. Weiss said the first event hosted at Belle Isle had around 50 swimmers. Now they have more than 150 people swimming and volunteering with the event that provides people impacted by cancer with an opportunity to not only support a cause close to them but feel a little victorious in the process.
The goal for adults swimming in the event is $400. Children try for $200. If they don’t reach their goal there’s no penalty or make-up funding.
However, it appears that most of them do considering the event has raised more than $500,000 since its start in 2019. “We raised $35,000 the first year. Then $50,000, $75,000 and jumped to $100,000 last year and the year before,” Weiss said.
Naturally, this year’s goal is to surpass $100,000. All of the money raised helps to fund cutting edge research for new treatm.