The Hammerhead Swim Club hosted its first ever, "Going the Mile" fundraiser in support of the Upstate New York Arthritis Foundation at the Dunkirk High School pool on Saturday, Dec. 1.
The event was to show support for 13-year-old team member Sean Brown of Fredonia, who lives with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The original goals for the team included swimming a total of 20 miles in the pool and raising $500. The team quickly crushed these numbers.
In total, 38 swimmers participated, including HHSC team members (ages 7 and up), coaches and parents. When it was all said and done, the participants swam a combined 32 miles, which translates into 52,800 yards, and raised more than $2,800 in three hours.
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The Hammerhead Swim?Club hosted “Going the Mile” to help raise money for fellow swimmer Sean Brown, who lives with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Participating swimmers were: Marissa Boettcher, Sean Brown, Zach Corrente, Brooke D’Agostino, Timmy Davis, Riley Drummond, Julia Fortna, Jane Fortna, Finn Frerichs, Jack Gaken, Amelia Harper, Justin Hubble, Max Kinkela, Lindsay Lovern, Jake Maslak, Jarrett Maslak, Eric Massod, Grace Mroczka, Ronan Murphy, Bill Osula, Deidra Osula, McKayla Polowy, Alice Przybician, Meredith Przybician, Mikayla Reynolds, Josh Saye, Andrew Saye, Hannah Saye, Grace Saye, Taryn Sillanpaa, Lauren Skellie, Morghon Thompson, Mike Thompson, Bruce Thompson, Emma Thompson, Sophie Thompson, Tess Thompson, and Matt Zevenbergen.
A dedicated member of the swim team, Brown was recently featured swimming in an Independent Health commercial that spoke about the challenges of obtaining the medicines necessary to stay healthy and the relief he feels from the effects of JRA when swimming in the pool. The team is very proud of all the swimmers that participated and look forward to recruiting more people to participate again next year.
For information about Hammerhead Swim Club, go to www.hammerheadswimclub.org.
