PT Swim Club raises $9,000 for Swim-for-Life
“Everyone and anyone can make a difference in this world and work to give back to their community and society – no matter their age and gender,” said Jake Rose, a sophomore at Peters Township High School.
On Oct. 17, Rose exemplified this by hosting the first ever Peters Township Swim Club Swim-for-Life relay at Peters Township High School.
The event, sponsored by Huntington Learning Center, Equipment Corporation of America, The Pilates Body, The Frog N Princess, B&R Pools and Swim Shop, Mertens Dental Associates and the Weyrich Family, was a success, not only at unifying the swim team toward a common goal, but also for raising a total of more than $9,000 for the American Cancer Society, $1,000 more than the original goal of $8,000.
At the Swim-For-Life event, swimmers of all ages participated in relays and swam laps, and enjoyed plenty of laughs and food. Relays like the Pumpkin Push, where swimmers swam a lap pushing a pumpkin, were not only fun, but also brought a sense of team unity for the swimmers. In these relays, the older swimmers would help out the younger swimmers by helping them put on or take off a wet T-shirt to swimming beside them during the relays.
“I couldn’t have raised $9,000 dollars on my own, but as a team we raised that amount of money and can make a difference to help others,” said Julia Scarton, a 10-year-old swimmer and participant at Swim-for-Life.
Abby Strennen, a junior on the swim team, had similar words: “An aspect of the Swim-for-Life event that I really enjoyed was that together, as a team, we were really making a difference to a number of lives.”
As for his own takeaway, Rose says, “I learned through this experience that I, even being only 15 years old and a sophomore in high school, can make a tremendous, positive impact on the community and society.”
Stephanie Wang is a sophomore at Peters Township High School.