Lake Isle Swim and Dive Team Raises over $10,000 for Cancer Research

A few days before the County Championships, and two days after winning its final dual meet of the season on its way to a 5-0 record and third straight Division I Championship, a good number of the members of Lake Isle Swim and Dive team were exactly were you would expect them—in the pool.

Around 20 team members participated in Swim Across America hosted by the Lake Isle Club Pool early Saturday morning, teaming up to each swim one mile and raise money for the fight against cancer. The children representing the Lake Isle Swim and Dive team raised a total of $10,500, a feat parents and coaches stressed they had almost no hand in.

"My daughter would very religiously check her donations page online every morning," said Kate Kennon, President of the Lake Isle Swim and Dive Team Board of Directors, whose 15-year-old daughter Nora participated in Saturday's event. "She gave me a rundown every day of how much money she had collected. She talked it up on Facebook, which was an excellent tool for advertising the event."

Lake Isle Head Coach Kevin Lavelle was also impressed with his team's dedication to the cause, something he says he has come to expect from a close knit and successful group both in and out of the water.

"The kids were really enthused," said Lavelle. "They took it on themselves and they ran with it. It could be the star swimmer or the newcomer to the team, it doesn't matter. They get along and they really work well with each other. I didn't have to do a thing."

Over 40 other individuals joined the team in swimming the mile for charity on Saturday, a big change from last year's first-ever Swim Across America event at Lake Isle, where only six swimmers participated.

Swim Across America, which has events throughout the country, is now in its 18^th year and has gone from raising $15,000 in its first year to what organizers estimate will reach $1 million in 2010.

Since its beginnings in 1992, Swim Across America has raised a total of $10 million towards cancer research at the Tommy Palazzo Fellowship for Pediatric Oncology Research at Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and the Swim Across America Research Laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Part of the proceeds also goes to The Cancer Support Team, a Mamaroneck-based health care agency for families affected by cancer.

"We are very proud and honored to have Lake Isle sponsor us and let us use their pool," said Tony Sibio, Chairman of the Long Island Sound Swim Across America events. "What the swim team did this year was just amazing. We've exceeded expectations today. We just need to keep doing this until there is 100% cure rate."

A number of honorary and memorial teams also took part in Saturday's swim against cancer—the last of five Long Island pool swims offered this summer—giving the event the friendly and inclusive atmosphere participants and spectators have come to expect from Swim Across America.

"The great thing about our events is that a lot of families participate," Sibio said. "There are 7- and 8-year-olds swimming, and then we have 80-year-olds swimming. It's a family event."