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The 20th Anniversary of the SWIM Across the Sound will be celebrated on Connecticut Public Television on Sunday, November 23rd at 6:00 p.m. The television program, produced by Bill Rock Productions, chronicles the 20-year evolution of St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound. The fundraising swimming marathon grew from a one-day event that raised $5,000, into what has become a year-round series of events raising more than $2.65 million in 2008 alone.
The SWIM Across the Sound Marathon began with a small group of relay swimmers who swam from Port Jefferson, New York across Long Island Sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut. This year, 12 solo swimmers and 33 relay teams participated, raising more than $350,000. The swimmers came from all over the state of Connecticut and the nation – one of the 2008 swimmers hailed from the Island of Jersey in the United Kingdom.
The SWIM has always been about people. Over the years, tens of thousands of spectators have been at the finish line, cheering on the swimmers. In addition to the SWIM Marathon, dozens of activities have been incorporated to raise funds to support 36 cancer prevention and cancer patient assistance programs that have helped more than 20,000 people annually throughout the Connecticut. Numerous celebrities have also lent their names to the efforts of the SWIM.
The anniversary show documents the lives of those who have played an import role in the SWIM’s history, including those who are no longer with us. Among them is Dave Parcells, who became the oldest person in history to “Double Cross the English Channel.”
“Bill Rock productions shot more than 240 hours of footage over a 20-year period,” said Ronald J. Bianchi, President of St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation and Senior Corporate Vice President of St. Vincent’s Health Services. “The result of this work is a program that is fast-paced and exciting, depicting both the personal victories and challenges of the participants of the annual SWIM Across the Sound Marathon and showcasing some of our other events.”
For more information on Bill Rock Productions or the TV program, call Bill Rock at 203-377-6537 or E-mail him at brock@snet.net. For more information about St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound, visit www.swimacrossthesound.org.
St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound
St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound is a charitable, grass roots organization run by St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation. For 21 years, the SWIM has had a unique niche, providing cancer education, screening and prevention programs at low- or no-cost for the elderly and underserved. In addition, the SWIM helps individual cancer patients on a case-by-case basis with specific needs, such as the funding of wigs and prostheses, medication assistance, free transportation to treatments and appointments, day-care scholarships, support groups and more. The charity raises funds through events such as the SWIM Marathon, Breast Cancer Luncheon, Walk/Run for Cancer and Prostate Cancer Celebrity Dinner. Wherever possible, the SWIM covers costs and expenses of events through corporate sponsorships, and staffing overhead is covered by the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation.
The SWIM’s main area of reach is eastern Fairfield County, but outreach programs extend to other areas of Connecticut with the SWIM’s Hartford Chapter and annual fund raisers for New Haven County, as well as support for Connecticut’s first responders and correction officers with cancer. The SWIM’s Teen SmokeStoppers program has reached 100,000 children throughout the entire state to date. The SWIM raised $2.65 million in the 2008 fiscal year and helps more than 20,000 people annually. For more information, contact the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation at (203) 576-5451 or visit www.swimacrossthesound.org.
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