Swim Across America Long Island Sound Chapter Invites Swimmers to “Catch Our Wave”
To Surpass $25 Million Fundraising Goal Registration Open for Long Island Sound Swim, Seven Pool Events in July and August
Swim Across America’s Long Island Sound Chapter (SAA-LIS), which has been funding cancer research, clinical trials and treatment programs by hosting charity swims for more than three decades, is gearing up for another record-breaking fundraising summer. This year the chapter expects to exceed $25 million in total donations raised since its inception in 1992.
In July and August participants will have eight opportunities to swim and volunteer in SAA-LIS events in Westchester. The open-water signature swim, which hosts swimmers from throughout Westchester County, the Hudson Valley and beyond, will take place on July 29 in Larchmont’s Long Island Sound, with pool swims scheduled between July 7 and August 5.
“We began our chapter with a small group of fifteen dedicated swimmers, who recognized the need to raise money to fight cancer and believed that each one of them could make a difference,” says SAA-LIS Executive Director Jean Fufidio. “Fast forward, and SAA-LIS is now in its fourth decade with more than 800 swimmers and volunteers working towards that same goal – making this a cancer-free world.”
Proceeds from the swims will support Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Columbia University Cancer Center, Cancer Support Team, and Weill Cornell Medical Center.
The summer program will encompass seven pool swims (with the option of half-mile and one-mile efforts) plus an open-water swim course on Long Island Sound that will offer participants the option of swimming 2K, 5K or 10K. The open-water swim, which starts at Larchmont Yacht Club and ends at Larchmont Shore Club, has been recognized by the World Open Water Swimming Association as one of America's Top 100 Open Water Swims.
The full roster of participating locations, dates and times is as follows:
NYAC Travers Island, Pelham, NY
July 7 -- 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Coveleigh Club, Rye, NY
July 19 – 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (members only)
Orienta Beach Club, Mamaroneck, NY
July 22 -- 6:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Chappaqua Swim & Tennis Club, Chappaqua, NY
July 23 – 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Scarsdale Golf Club, Scarsdale, NY
July 25 – 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Long Island Sound Open Water, Larchmont, NY
July 29 -- 6 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Lake Isle Country Club, Eastchester, NY
August 5 – 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Westchester Country Club
Date and time to be determined
Those interested in participating in 2023 Swim Across America-LIS events can register to swim, kayak, sponsor a swimmer or volunteer to help at
www.swimacrossamerica.org. Donations can be sent to SAA-Long Island Sound, P.O. Box 217, Larchmont, NY 10538.
For those who prefer not to swim, SAA My Way is a virtual fundraising offering where participants decide their activity and timeline. It can be anything from walking to golfing, playing tennis to baseball. All SAA My Way participants are encouraged to set a minimum fundraising goal of $250. All donations raised for My Way will support the SAA-LIS event.
“For more than 30 years, funds raised by SAA-LIS have supported important, breakthrough research that is having a profound effect on the lives of those with cancer, but we still have more to do,” says Ms. Fufidio. “We encourage members of the Westchester community and beyond to ‘Catch Our Wave’ and join us this summer as we continue to ‘Make Waves to Fight Cancer’ and save lives. We are making great inroads in cancer research, but continued support is essential as we search for a cure.”
