Swim Across America Inc., (SAA) is a nonprofit dedicated to raising money and awareness for
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
research, prevention, and treatment. It does so by hosting charity swims and donating the proceeds to a hospital. Since its founding, SAA has granted over $100 million to fund cancer research and clinical trials. More than 100,000 donations a year are made to support participants in Swim Across America charity swims to meet their fundraising goals. The proceeds from SAA charity swims are granted to fund cancer research at world-renowned hospitals such as
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
and
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
.
In 2020, Swim Across America will award a record $6 million in cancer research grants that will fund more than 50 projects and programs.
Origins and mission
Founders
In the summer of 1984, childhood friends and recent college graduates Jeff Keith, Matt Vossler, and Hugh Curran ran across the USA beginning in Boston and finishing spring of 1985 in Los Angeles. Keith, a survivor of cancer, had lost part of his right leg to cancer and their run raised over $1 million for the
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...
. Swim Across America is the inspired sequel to the triumphant Run Across America completed by the two founders of SAA, Jeff Keith and Matt Vossler in 1985. The eight-month journey spanned the country from Boston to Los Angeles and raised over $1 million for cancer research. Jeff Keith, one of the determined runners, a 22-year-old from Fairfield, CT, had lost his right leg to cancer a decade before. Following college graduation, these two childhood buddies embarked on their mission, making history in the process. Together, they instilled hope in all who fight this disease and heightened consciousness about overcoming this frightening diagnosis.
Mission
Swim Across America's mission is to raise money and awareness for cancer research, prevention, and treatment through swimming-related events. The Swim Across America tagline is "Making Waves to Fight Cancer."
It is important donors know that our grant agreement requires 100% of SAA grants be applied to approved projects and not other things such as overhead and buildings.
Impact
“SAA funding has played a major role in clinically developing the four FDA approved immunotherapy medicines
ipilimumab
Ipilimumab, sold under the brand name Yervoy, is a monoclonal antibody medication that works to activate the immune system by targeting CTLA-4, a protein receptor that downregulates the immune system.
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) can recognize ...
(YERVOY),
nivolumab
Nivolumab, sold under the brand name Opdivo, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes melanoma, lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, urotheli ...
(OPDIVO),
pembrolizumab
Pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, is a humanized antibody used in cancer immunotherapy that treats melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, and certain types of breast canc ...
(KEYTRUDA) and
atezolizumab
Atezolizumab, sold under the brand name Tecentriq, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat urothelial carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), hepatocellular ...
(TECENTRIQ).” - Dr. Jedd Wolchok, Chief Oncology,
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
.
Events
Swim Across America primarily hosts two types of charity swims: open water and pool swims.
Swim Across America will feature 21 open water charity swims in 2020 in the following markets:
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Larchmont
Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Larc ...
Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States:
* Fairfield County, Connecticut
* Fairfield County, Ohio
Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...
(CT),
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
,
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. Proceeds from open water swims are then donated to a local hospital. Typically, the open water swim distances are 1/2 mile up to 3 miles, with participants selecting a distance based on their ability and comfort level. Participants pay a tax-deductible registration fee that can range from $50 to $100 and then agree to meet a fundraising minimum by soliciting donations from their family, friends, and employers.
Swim Across America - Long Island Sound has historically raised the largest amount each year, including over $1.2 million in 201 Swim Across America Long Island Sound Sets New Record Swim Across America acknowledges the history of its greatest teams and partners who have supported with a Champions Wall.
Pool swims are charity swims hosted by age group, high school, college, masters, summer league, and facilities that want to dedicate a day or practice to SAA. Pool swims do not have fundraising requirements the way open water charity swims do and typically are not connected to a local hospital. The proceeds from pool swims are "pooled" together and granted by SAA's beneficiary committee.
Sponsors and partnerships
A number of sponsors play a substantial role in the execution of SAA events. Current corporate partners of Swim Across America include
Merck
Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including:
* the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668
** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...
,
KPMG
KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
, SwimOutlet.com,
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
, National Coalition of 7-Eleven Franchisee Owners Association, Captivate,
Clear Channel Outdoor
Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA) is an out-of-home (OOH) advertising company based in New York City with operations throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. CCOA is one of two separate business units operating as part of Clear Channel Outdo ...
, Orca and Swimmingly.
Olympians
Over 100 Olympians have attended Swim Across America swims and special events generating awareness and raising donations for our beneficiaries. SAA has attracted the involvement of many Olympic swimmers including
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
,
Nathan Adrian
Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event.
In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer O ...
,
Missy Franklin
Melissa Franklin Johnson (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). As a member of the U.S. national swim team ...
,
Elizabeth Beisel
Elizabeth Lyon Beisel (born August 18, 1992) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in backstroke and individual medley events. Beisel placed second in the 400m individual medley at the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying fo ...
,
Jenny Thompson
Jennifer Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer and anesthesiologist.
She is one of the most decorated Olympians in history: twelve medals, including eight gold medals, in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 200 ...
,
Ryan Lochte
Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by to ...
,
Craig Beardsley
Craig Russell Beardsley (born 1960) is an American former competition swimmer who was a world record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly for three years in the early 1980s. Although he qualified as a member of the ill-fated 1980 U.S. Olympic Tea ...
,
Rowdy Gaines
Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV (born February 17, 1959) is an American former competitive swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a swimming analyst fo ...
,
Steve Lundquist
Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke ...
,
Kristy Kowal
Kristina Ann Kowal (born October 9, 1978) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Kowal represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, winning the silver medal in the ...
,
Heather Petri
Heather Danielle Petri (born June 13, 1978) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal with the US women's national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, a silver medal in Beijing in 2008 ...
,
Jill Sterkel
Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Jillian (Gillian), which in turn originates as a Middle English variant of Juliana, the feminine form of the name Julian.
People with the given name
*Jill Astbury, Australian res ...
,
Summer Sanders
Summer Elisabeth Sanders (born October 13, 1972) is an American sports commentator, reporter, television personality, actress, former competition swimmer and Olympic champion from 1992.
Early life
Sanders was born in Roseville, California, a ...
,
Christine Magnuson
Christine Marie Magnuson (born October 17, 1985) is an American competition swimmer and two-time Olympic medalist. She has won a total of five medals in major international competition, four silvers, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the Wo ...
,
Cullen Jones
Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in Freestyle swimming, freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the List of world records in ...
Brooke Bennett
Brooke Marie Bennett (born May 6, 1980) is an American former competition swimmer and three-time Olympic champion.
Swimming career
1996 Summer Olympics
'
Bennett's first gold medal came in the 800-meter freestyle race at the 1996 Summer Olymp ...
,
Theresa Andrews
Theresa Andrews (born August 25, 1962) is an American former competitive swimmer and Olympic champion. Raised in Maryland, Andrews gained prominence as a national collegiate champion when competing for the University of Florida. In internationa ...
,
Jeff Rouse
Jeffrey Norman Rouse (born February 6, 1970) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events.
Rouse represented the United States in two consecutive Olympic Games in 1992 ...
Swim Across America uses donations to support patients in all stages of cancer, from early research to diagnosis to treatments to postcancer support. Beneficiaries include many of the most prestigious cancer research institutes in the United States, such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York),
Johns Hopkins Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (Baltimore) Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center (Nashville),
Rush University Medical Center
Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital an ...
(Chicago), Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (Connecticut),
Columbia University Medical Center
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (NYP/CUIMC), also known as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), is an academic medical center and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. It includes C ...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, and quantitative biology.
It is one of 68 institutions supported by the Cancer Centers ...
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) is a cancer treatment and research center in Seattle, Washington. Established in 1998, this nonprofit provides clinical oncology care for patients treated at its three partner organizations: Fred Hutchinson Can ...
,
Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island is a women and infants' hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the primary teaching hospital in obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics of the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. ...
(RI), Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas),
Moffitt Cancer Center
Houston Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a nonprofit cancer treatment and research center located in Tampa, Florida. Established in 1981 by the Florida Legislature, the hospital opened in October 1986 on the University of South ...
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) sometimes simply referred to as ''Children's'', is a not-for-profit children's healthcare system, located in the Atlanta area dedicated to caring for infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–2 ...
MD Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) is a cancer research center at University of California, Los Angeles.
History
The center was originated by UCLA scientists and volunteers who began working together in the late 1960s.Giglio, Rebecca. "Swim for Hospice of Rockland Raises Over $8000." NewCity Patch. Patch, 20 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Sept. 2011.
In at least nine cancer research and care institutes, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Sidney-Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Swim Across America's donations have led to the establishment and operation of new research laboratories named for the organization.