Swim for Life in Mexico!
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There were no borders between Provincetown USA and La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico this winter. Summer resident Arthur Richter recently brought the Swim for Life to this Pacific coastal town and it embraced the event with over one hundred participants, raising ,700 USD for the town’s elderly.“The whole town came out! We doubled our expectations,” Richter exclaimed.Richter is a board member of the Provincetown Community Compact, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and a longtime swimmer. For years he swam with his grandson Max as well as annually soliciting $10,000 in prizes from businesses for the top swimmer fundraisers. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.His contagious enthusiasm for the Swim for Life while vacationing in this seaside town inspired local residents Leti Hernandez and Conrado Martinez Serrano to organize the event, “Nadando por Ellos”. Along with the fifty-five swimmers, there were sixty walkers who also helped raise pledges. The community is already planning another event in 2019.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, which has raised over $4.5M for AIDS, women’s health and the community, will be held September 8, 2018.www.swim4life.org
PROVINCETOWN, MA. With hurricane Irma looming on everyone’s mind, the 30th Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla welcomed a record 421 swimmers to the seasonally warm waters of Provincetown Harbor with a light northeast breeze and sunny blue skies. This post-Labor Day community celebration and fundraiser generated an estimated $225,000 for AIDS, women’s health & the community, with critical support from 150 volunteers. Swimmers hailed from as far away as London, Amsterdam and Quebec.Swimmer Shawn McNulty of Provincetown, along with his daughter Nicole, raised a record $37.000.00 in pledges from 350 individual donors.The weekend event kicked off on Friday with the inspired Celebration of Life Concert at the UU Meeting House, produced by John Thomas.
“This event highlights the importance and effectiveness of government and the community working together to assure the safety of its residents and visitors. We are grateful”, stated Jay Critchley, Director of the Provincetown Community Compact, sponsor of the event. He remarked before the Swim, “The oceans have no borders. We will be thinking of our brothers and sisters devastated by hurricanes as we swim across the harbor.”Assistance on the harbor was provided by the Provincetown Rescue Squad, US Coast Guard, Provincetown Harbormaster and the Cape Cod National Seashore, along with the Center for Coastal Studies and 75 kayakers and power boats.The Swim for Life, headquartered at the Boatslip Beach Club, included the Mermaid Brunch, catered by Far Land Provisions, with entertainment by Zoe Lewis, followed by the awards ceremony. Rex McKinsey and Luis Ribas of the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office were honored with the David Asher Volunteer Award for their years of critical Swim support and their volunteer contributions to the community. James Cote of Brooklyn surprised his boyfriend, Keith Atchison, with a public marriage proposal, which he accepted, to the delight of the crowd.The Wellesley High School swim team presented their rousing cheers at the Boatslip and at the Swim start at Long Point. Handcrafted medallions by Christie Andresen of Taqwa Glassworks were awarded to swimmers who have swum ten times or raised $10,000 in pledges. Circle of Honor recipients include: Christopher Flynn of Boston and Reenie Desabrais of Chicopee, MA.
Seventy-two swimmers and kayakers raised over one thousand dollars each in pledges and joined the $1,000 Club, receiving prizes from local businesses totaling $10,000 in value. Following McNulty, other top fundraisers include: Jim Youngerman, Lenox, MA, $17,142; Jonathan Scott, Provincetown, $10,001; Barbara Jo Revelle, Gainesville, FL, $7,198; John MacClaren, Walpole, NH, $6,123; Paul Mast, Waldwick, NJ, $5,904; Team Chris Nagle, Eastham, $5,000; and top kayaker fundraiser, Maureen Desabrais of Chicopee at $3,000.Although not a race, times are recorded for personal best. The fastest male swimmer was Justin Burkhardt of Cape Elizabeth, ME at 28:40. Top female finisher, at two seconds behind Burkhardt, is Kristen Read of Arundel, ME at 28.42. The oldest female swimmer was Joan Nagle, 83, of Eastham, and the oldest male was Robert Callender, 74, of Tiburon, CA. Abby Walker was the youngest swimmer at nine years old, swimming the distance in a “Satellite Swim” in a pool over the summer.
Swim for Life business sponsors include: Seamen’s Bank (lead sponsor); Provincetown Banner (media sponsor), and the Lobster Pot Restaurant, Far Land Provisions, Boatslip Beach Club, Fanizzi’s Restaurant, Crown & Anchor, Harbor Hotel, Berta Walker Gallery, Mussel Beach Health Club, Cape Air, Bay State Cruise, Art’s Dune Tours, ProTools and Seashore Point.Special thanks to Peregrine Theatre Ensemble, Mosquito Story Slam, DFlax, WOMR FM, Dunes Radio, Kathryn Rafter and Francey Beall, Allan MacKinnon, Provincetown Aquasports, the Funk Bus and Mayflower Trolley, Cee Jay, Dog Gone Sailing, John Salvador, Schooner Hindu, Flyer’s Boat Rentals and numerous volunteer boaters.
The fundraiser builds community and provides year round funding and support for social services, youth and educational organizations that include: AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and Helping Our Women, primary beneficiaries; and Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s Place.The 31st Provincetown Swim for Life is set for September 8, 2018.For more information: 
As a massage therapist she created a supportive healing practice, while caring for her 84 year-old father who she moved from New York City to Orleans a decade ago. Life was good.In 2015, however, things went awry. A perfect storm of serious health issues, loss of her home of fourteen years and her father’s deteriorating health left her, suddenly, homeless. The healer needed healing, but felt ashamed and vulnerable when she reluctantly walked into the office of Helping Our Women and remarked, “Other women are more deserving of help than me.” She was terrified to ask for help because she would seem weak, but was told that she deserved to be cared for. And the community responded with such generosity that her father remarked, “No one does this!”“The capacity of HOW and its safe space for bearing witness to another is breathtaking beyond measure,” she states from one of her many speeches she gives sharing her journey from independence to interdependence. “Vulnerability can change the world,” she proclaims.Along with HOW’s social service advocacy and financial and emotional support, including Cape Air tickets to Boston hospital appointments, Tracey also lived for free in three different homes while homeless. And she was given a jeep – her dream car, received gifts cards and lots of hugs, and finally, was selected for an affordable housing unit at Sable Path for her and her father.Helping Our Women, along with the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, are major beneficiaries of the Swim for Life, set for September 9 this year. Other beneficiaries include: Outer Cape Health Services, Soup Kitchen of Provincetown, Provincetown Rescue Squad, Lower Cape Ambulance, Accessible Provincetown, The Compact Community Fund, Provincetown Schools, West End Racing Club and Cape Cod Children’s PlaceFor information and ways to participate, go to www.Swim4Life.org.
Thirty years later the event attracts 400 swimmers, 150 kayakers, boaters and volunteers. Sponsored by the 
This post-Labor-Day, 1.4-mile swim has raised over $4M for AIDS, women's health and the community since 1988. This year's Swim poster and t-shirt image features the dory of the late Eddie Ritter, the last historic dory in Provincetown. The photo is by Allan MacKinnon, with the design by Andrea Pluhar. T-shirts will be available at Seamen’s Bank downtown next week.For swimmers and kayakers, personal funding pages may be set up through the Swim website: 
