Register for Swim for Them 2013!

In the last three years, 32 swimmers have raised over $37,000 for charities they love. Are you ready to play your part? What do you care about? Who do you love? Help us help them!

Join Swim for Them 2013. You'll choose a cause, choose a target distance, and fundraise online. On Saturday, September 14, we all get together for the big swim. This year our home becomes the gorgeous new Kingsport Aquatic Center!

Register before the end of May to grab the early bird discount! Registration fees will go up a bit in June.

Sign up online today!  

Not convinced yet? Here's some more info to noodle on...

What cause fuels your passion? Swim for Them is all about empowering you to generate aid for that cause via your efforts in the pool. Here's how you can join in...

1. Choose a cause.  What matters to you?
2. Choose your distance.  Your goal distance can be anything that pushes and motivates you.  Common swims are 10K, 5K, 1 mile, or even 500 meters.
3. Sign up!

After you're signed up, here's what's ahead...

• Create your page!  We'll help you get a great personal fundraising site set up with Razoo. Details will be in your welcome email.
• Promote your swim!  Let your friends and family know about the commitment you've made. Your passion can influence and inspire others. (That's how we got our start.) You'll also have your own support links at www.swimforthem.org.
• Train, baby, train.
• Swim!  All participating swimmers get together for the big Swim for Them event.* You'll finish tired but inspired - basking in the feeling of having made a difference for the cause which moves your spirit.

So, are you ready?

Register now!  

* Swim for Them 2013 is scheduled for Saturday, September 14.
** Questions?  Contact Greg Wellman at greg@swimforthem.org.

Swim for Them 2012 Recap

Swim for Them 2012 has drawn to a close, and it's been a year of incredible growth and explosive blessings.  Twenty swimmers swam 71 miles in the course of raising over $22,000 for eighteen charities!  One of the most special numbers to me is this...  Over 460 individual donations were made toward that $22,000 total.  That's 460 decisions to help a friend, coworker, or family member make a difference.

But as exciting as those figures are, Swim for Them is not about numbers. Just as we said in 2011, Swim for Them is about empowering swimmers to make a difference. It's about creating support opportunities for our community. It's about inspiring our children to help their neighbors in creative ways. More than anything, it's about serving a loving God through loving action.

 Thanks in part to this partnership between swimmers and donors:

• Special needs children will ride horses at Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center
• Heroes will receive treatment through the Wounded Warrior Project
• Animals will receive help from the SBK Animal Center and the JCWC Animal Shelter
• Johnson City women will be helped to by the River Ministry
• Meals will be served to Kingsport's own at the Kitchen of Hope
• Children will receive the blessings of outdoorsmanship through OE4A
• Children will be healed at St Jude
• Children will learn at Miller Perry Elementary
• Second Harvest Food Bank will feed people throughout the Tri-Cities
• Children across the globe will receive education and love through Compassion International
• Local boys will learn lessons in manhood through Rise Up
• Buffalo Mountain Camp will be rebuilt
• Cancer research will be further down the path toward a cure
• Sudanese orphans will watch their new home as it's constructed
• Compassionate Friends will help families as they grieve unimaginable loss

THANK YOU to our swimmers, our families, and our friends. As we officially close out Swim for Them 2012, enjoy this brief montage.  But be ready... It might fire you up to swim in 2013, and we have more growing to do!  ;-)

Grace and peace,
Greg Wellman

PS: The 2012 photo gallery is also ready.

Swim for Them in the news again!

On Sunday, September 30, we were featured on the front page of Section E in the Kingsport Times-News.

You can click here to read the article.  Thanks to Leigh Ann Laube and the Times-News for the story and the visibility!

2012 T-shirts

"Say, where could I get a Swim for Them shirt like that?"  If you've ever had this thought, today is your lucky day!

The 2012 Swim for Them shirt will be red with white printing.  The front will feature the Swim for Them graphic, and logos for our charities and sponsors will be on the back.  The 2011 shirt is shown here.

Adult sizes are S, M, L, XL to 5X.  Youth sizes run from Y-XS to Y-XL.  Cost is $12 per shirt.  Add $2 for 2X/3X or $3 for 4X/5X.

Our 2010 and 2011 shirts were a big hit with swimmers and supporters alike.  We're working again with Link Promotional, so we know the quality will be excellent.

What do to...  If you'd like one or more T-shirts, send us an email (greg@swimforthem.org) with your requested shirt quantities and sizes.  Shirt orders must be received by 5pm on Friday, Sept 14. 

This deadline is coming up soon, so get these orders in ASAP!  Make checks payable to Mafair UMC, noting Swim for Them shirts in the memo line.  Please give checks to Greg Wellman or Greg Perdue in person or mail them to Greg Wellman, PO Box 511, Kingsport TN 37662.

Hope to see you around town in your Swim for Them shirt!

For our swimmers: Online fundraising tips

Need some advice on how raise awareness and support for your swim?  Check out these tips from FirstGiving.

Amazing fundraising

Need some motivation to drive support for your cause?  Check this out...

Swimathon is a UK-based swimming fundraiser.  They've been around for about 25 years, and they collectively support two large organizations each year, plus some smaller charities via grant application.  Here are some fantastic stats:

• In 2012, they had over 26,000 swimmers!
• These 26,000 swimmers raised over $3.4 million for charity!
• Their top fundraiser, Brian Duncan, raised over $20,000 on his own.

Kudos to Swimathon for putting on an amazing event across the UK.  You give us something to aspire to!

Science settles debate about swimming strokes

Distance swimmers need efficiency, and researchers at Johns Hopkins have settled the debate over what stroke technique (deep catch versus scull) is most mechanically efficient.

Check out the video and the article, and keep improving that technique!



(Hat tip to Swim for Them swimmer Jessica Wellman!)