Laps for Life Fundraiser 2025

On Sat. 4/5/25 I will be swimming in my 4th Annual Laps For Life Charity Fundraiser to benefit the Swim With Mike (SWM) Foundation and humanitarian projects of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). If I hit my goals in 2025, I will have swam a total of 1,310 laps (18.2 miles) and raised a total of just over $25,000. My long-term goal is to swim more laps each year for as many years as possible, and to raise a total of $100,000. 

I feel a special personal connection to the SWM Foundation due to my own serious accident as a teenager in which I fell from an avocado tree and broke my neck (fracture dislocation of C-2, C-3 and C-4) in 1974. I was extremely fortunate that I was not paralyzed in the accident. The more I swim and raise funds for this cause, the more I learn about the Swim With Mike scholarship recipients who sustained life-altering injuries and their amazing outlook on life. In addition, I also learn more each year about how fortunate I was that I was not paralyzed.  As a result, I feel I owe it to the SWM scholarship recipients to raise as much SWM funds as I can (and swim as far as I can) for as many years as possible. 

The SWM Foundation's mission (now in its 44^th year) is to change the lives of student athletes who have experienced catastrophic injury or illness by providing scholarships, creating community and instilling hope and purpose. My own accident many years ago is a constant reminder to me that life is fragile, and to give back to those who are less fortunate. Since its inception in 1981, SWM and its generous donors have changed the lives of 310 scholarship recipients- and these scholarship recipients have attended 157 universities across 47 states.

In addition, as a recent past president of the Westlake Sunrise Rotary Club, I remain very active in the club regarding all the community service and humanitarian projects that Rotary provides all over the world. The Rotary Foundation (TRF) was started in 1918, and its mission is to help Rotarians around the globe to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty. TRF has spent more than $4 Billion on life-changing, sustainable projects. While it has been involved in many projects over the years, TRF is probably best known for its efforts over the last forty years to combat polio.  TRF is consistently given high marks by Charity Navigator (100% rating, and 4 out of 4 stars), which ranks non-profit organizations by their efficiency of operations- 91% of the funds it raises go to the charities it benefits around the globe. 

If you would like to contribute to these two worthy causes,  just  click on the link below.  And, many thanks to those who have already contributed. Back to the swimming pool!