Kathleen Foley of Winthrop has joined Swim Across America (SAA) to make a splash for pediatric cancer programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Foley will be swimming in the 20th annual SAA – Boston Harbor 22-mile relay swim, Friday, July 12.
“The swims are a great way for people to come together and participate in a sport they love alongside Olympic swimming legends while raising critical funds for pediatric programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and at MassGeneral Hospital for Children,†says 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist Janel Jorgensen McArdle, who is also the president of Swim Across America.
Every stroke and dollar makes a difference in the fight against cancer. The SAA – Boston Harbor swim is an all day event that starts from behind the Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf. Swimmers pledge a minimum of $1,500 to participate. Swimmers taking part in the one and half-mile competitive ocean swims at SAA – DCR Nantasket Beach in Hull must raise a minimum of $250 each. Swim Across America is a non-profit organization that runs events from Boston to San Francisco to support cancer research at the country’s finest hospitals and institutions At SAA, money raised locally, stays local, ensuring that swimmers always know the impact that they are making. Proceeds from the Boston-area swims benefit the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic at Dana-Farber, where experts help pediatric cancer survivors with an array of issues, including long-term effects of treatment, social and psychological concerns and the risk of second cancers and to the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at MassGeneral Hospital for Children for cancer care and research initiatives that enhance the quality of life for the hospital’s youngest cancer patients.