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UB swimmers to join Lake Erie marathon swim
Carly's Crossing to raise funds, awareness for pediatric cancer research
By HEIDI ROTH
Reporter Contributor
Seven UB women's swimmers and head coach Dorsi Raynolds will take to the waters of Lake Erie on Saturday to participate in Carly's Crossing, a 26-mile swim from Dunkirk to Ridgeway, Ontario, being held to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research.
The swim will support Carly's Club for Kids and Cancer Research, which was founded in March 2000 by Carly Collard-Cottone, who was diagnosed with brain cancer after losing both of her birth parents to cancer. Carly died last August after a three-year battle with the disease.
The marathon swim, which will take place on the one-year anniversary of Carly's death, is the brainchild of Joe Zwierzchowski, a family friend, teacher and swim coach from Amherst who conceived of Carly's Crossing as a tribute to her and as a way to raise awareness and funds for the efforts of Carly's Club. Carly's Club, which exclusively supports pediatric cancer research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, is becoming one of the largest pediatric cancer research fundraising organizations in the country.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to swim across the 26-mile course in Lake Erie in Carly's honor and for all her club represents," says Raynolds. "To be able to do something through the sport we love that can increase awareness of pediatric cancer and raise funds for research in Carly's memory is an extraordinary opportunity for all involved in Carly's Crossing."
Zwierzchowski plans to swim the first five and the last five miles of the 26-mile swim. The UB swimmers—graduate Melissa Schafer; senior Jolie Pun; juniors Jennefer Brankovsky, Amanda Meyers and Bethany Miller, and sophomores Jennifer Raimondi and Rachael Rubin—will swim two miles each, relay-style. Raynolds and distance swimmer Penny Lee Dean, who holds 13 world records for long distance swimming, including the English and Catalina Channels, and who has been helping Zwierzchowski with his training, will swim one mile each.
Zwierzchowski, Dean and the UB swimmers will be accompanied by more than 50 youth swimmers from various swim clubs throughout Western New York and Southern Ontario, each of whom will swim a one-mile stretch across the lake. Many of the swimmers were friends and classmates of Carly.
"Carly was and still is a role model for all of us because of her unwavering courage throughout her illness, and her spirit truly lives on in those who knew her and beyond," said Raynolds. "With our team involved, Carly has now touched the lives of people who never had the privilege of meeting her. We got involved to act as role models for the younger participants and to generate awareness of childhood cancer. The theme of Carly's Crossing has become about mentoring and role modeling, and how each and every one of us can make a difference."
Carly's Crossing is being sponsored by corporate donations from both U.S. and Canadian companies, as well as donations from individuals in support of the swimmers. To donate or to get involved, visit http://www.carlyscrossing.org On Saturday, the Web site will feature a map tracking the progress of the swimmers as they cross Lake Erie.