From a pool to a mountaintop
/She’s five years old and she’s doing the Swim for Life - in a pool. He’s turning 60 and he’s climbing the Rockies for the Swim for Life. While neither will test their abilities in the waters of Provincetown Harbor on September 6, for both, this post-Labor Day tradition has been an inspiration.
Abby’s dad, Jeff Walker, has done the Swim and he inspired her to do it herself. However, she is only five years old and doesn’t know how to swim. So she learned last winter in Cambridge and invented her own Swim for Life - 91 laps in a pool, the equivalent of the 1.4 miles across the harbor. Spending most of the summer here, she continues her laps in pools at the Provincetown Inn and Harbor Hotel, swimming well beyond her goal. And she is now adding donations above her 00 pledge goal as well.Kim Oler (my brother-in-law), who has participated in several Swim fundraisers, was invited by college friends to hike the Rocky Mountains on the 80-mile Colorado Trail, up to 14,000 feet. So he began training for the high-altitude climb by traipsing through his Long Island neighborhood and mowing his lawn carrying a 40-pound backpack. He decided to make his heroic effort a benefit for the Swim for Life and has raised over 00 in pledges from family and friends.All are welcome to join us for the 27th annual Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla on September 6, 2014, a benefit for AIDS, women’s health & the community. Info and videos at: www.swim4life.org. Swim t-shirts are available at Seamen’s Bank, downtown, Venture Athletics and the Art Association & Museum. Swim beneficiaries include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Provincetown Schools, Youth Art Reach at Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Lower Cape Ambulance, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Helping Our Women, Outer Cape Heath Services, The Compact Community Fund and Provincetown Rescue Squad.Business Sponsors this year include: Lead sponsor, Seamen’s Bank, Media sponsor, Provincetown Banner, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Resort, Marc Jacobs, Harbor Hotel, Crown & Anchor, Mussel Beach Health Club, Berta Walker Gallery, Shawn Nightingale Productions and Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., with support from the Provincetown Visitor Services Board.
