This will be my 12th year participating in Swim Across America and my first swimming at High Tide Farm in Baltimore, MD as I recently moved to Virginia! The beneficiary for the event is the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine. This year, I will train to swim the 3 mile open water course. What is wonderful about the event is that it is not a race but a swim. A swim allows you to think about all those who have lost their battle or are battling cancer while you are actually taking each stroke. Initially, I swam in honor of all those fighting cancer, because cancer hadn’t hit close to home. But as the years went by, friends began fighting the disease. Many, sadly did not win the struggle. On July 2, 2022, my children lost their dad and I, my partner, Chris McQuilkin to pancreatic cancer. My brother Greg died of stomach cancer in 2020. Every year, I find the day of this event inspiring and uplifting, as everyone who has been touched by cancer comes together as one. We are united in the fight to find a cure. 

Founded in 1987, Swim Across America has hosted charity swims with one goal: to raise money for innovative cancer research that would lead to breakthrough treatments and therapies. Since then, Swim Across America has raised over $100M to fund the next generation of pioneers in oncology and cancer-support care. 

I joined Swim Across America because I believe in their mission and want to help give more families hope. If you are able, please support me by making a donation to help me reach my fundraising goal. 

Thank you for helping me #MakeWavesToFightCancer.