Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club to hold a swim-a-thon
Emma Buerger remembers the day that she and her friend, Hanna Bumgarner, were watching some swimmers swim across the English Channel for a fundraiser.
The two girls, now seniors at Mt. Lebanon High School, were impressed by what they saw, and that sparked an idea. The two, both members of the Mt. Lebanon High School swim team and the Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club, decided to organize their own swim-a-thon.
Last year’s event, which was put on by the aqua club, raised $8,000 for A2A3, an Ann Arbor, Mich., nonprofit that raises money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was started by a former sports coach of Bumgarner’s, who has ALS.
That event raised $8,000, and Buerger, now 17, said they were so thrilled by the success of last year’s swim-a-thon that they decided to do it again. The Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club’s event this year will be from 6-9 p.m. Oct. 23 at the high school swimming pool.
Money raised from this year’s event will go to the USA Swimming Foundation and the Samuel J. Foundation, an Oakdale nonprofit that helps children with brain tumors, pediatric cancers and developmental disabilities. The foundation is named for Samuel Jacob Johnson, who died of brain cancer at the age of 3. Buerger said that the nonprofit was chosen because she and Taylor Bloch, a swim team and aqua club member, attend St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with Samuel’s parents.
Buerger recruited two underclassmen, Maggie Baker, a junior, and Bloch, a sophomore, to help organize the event this year. She said she would like to see the swim-a-thon become an annual tradition.
“We watched what Emma and Hannah went through and when they said they wanted to do it again, we said we wanted to help,” Baker, 16, said.
“It is kind of fun to have a leadership role with this,” Bloch, 15, said.
Shane Buerger, Emma’s father, said he is hopeful the swim-a-thon will become a regular occurrence.
“I am really proud of Hanna and Emma last year for organizing the whole thing on their own,” he said. “But this year I am even more proud of them for engaging others to help so that they can create a sustainable event long after they graduate.”
Laura Buerger, Emma’s mother, agreed.
“It has been rewarding to see Emma and Hanna take this idea from a dream a few years ago, implement it last year with success from both a financial and fun perspective and then plan it again this year to benefit the Samuel J. Foundation. It truly merges their passion for swimming and their commitment to serving others.”
Even though this year’s swim-a-thon is still more than two weeks away, Buerger said they have already raised nearly $5,000, which is half of their $10,000 goal.
The swimmers this year will vary anywhere in age from 18, and possibly older, to as young as 6, and “40 to 50” club members will be taking part as well. Participants can swim any stroke that they like, even doggie paddle. There is a $5 participation fee.
Pledges can be made by the number of laps that are completed by each swimmer, or by one donation. Buerger said they are asking 25 cents for each lap. The maximum number of laps that can be swum is 200, she added.
For more information on the swim-a-thon, visit www.mlacswimming.com.