Swim For Haiti Raises $30,000

The Staples High School Swim Team and the Westport Weston Family YMCA Water Rat Swim Team held a "Swim For Haiti" fundraiser Tuesday to benefit the Save the Children Haitian Relief Efforts.   

The event was held simultaneously at Staples High School and the Westport Weston YMCA and included about 250 swimmers, ranging in age from 6 to 66.  In addition to members of the swim teams, several master swimmers also participated in the event including Michael Laux, the coach of the YMCA girls varsity swim team and Elizabeth Frye, who finished fifth in the 2009 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and has successfully crossed the English Channel three times since 2003.

Depending on the age of the swimmer, team members swam between 880 and 5,000 yards to raise money for the event.  All of the participants where proud to be involved and even though some of the younger swimmers where a bit nervous, they each swam for nearly an hour to reach their goal.  

Swim team members from Staples and the YMCA have been collecting pledges for the past few weeks to raise money for the event.  Brothers Andrew, Christopher and James Bowles collected money from family and friends, raising a total of $292.00, which included $10 each of their own money.  In total, the fundraiser raised more than $30,000 to benefit the Save The Children Haitian Relief Fund.

Donations will continue to be accepted for the Save the Children Haitian Relief Efforts and can be made by visiting www.savethechildren.org.

To read more about the Rats, click here.

To read more about Staples boys swimming, click here and girls swimming, click here.