Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Swim A Mile 2010: I did it for the 13th Time!



Last Saturday, I swam a mile at Mills College in Oakland for the Women's Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) in Oakland California's annual Swim A Mile for Women with Cancer.



This was my 13th time to do the swim and it marked 13 years since my own Cancer diagnosis.

So far, I've raised nearly $2900 for the WCRC, thanks to the very generous donations to sponsor me by friends and family.

WCRC provides resources and support to women in the Bay Area, and to their friends and families. A diagnosis of Cancer leads to a confusing maze of doctors, health insurance, employment issues, and general chaos to even the most savvy of people. WCRC helps women through this maze and charges NOTHING for its services. The Swim A Mile is its major fund raiser: Two days of swimming at the beautiful MIlls College Pool.

Here are some of my photos from my Saturday swim which I did with Harriet.



This year I swam in Honor of nearly 40 people and in Memory of nearly 20. There is a wall at the pool on which to post the names for whom we swim. These are my names and Harriet's. I've posted closer pictures of those I swam for at the end of this blog post.



This is another wall posting by a more artistic swimmer, with possibly more people for whom she was swimming.



Here's Harriet before her swim, standing by the wall.



My good friend and swim buddy, Pat, had already finished her swim when I was just getting in; this is her 10th swim.



Judy came along to cheer Pat on and to be her official photographer.



This was Harriet's 5th Swim and, as expected, she had a glorious finish.



Each swimmer has her own lane counter. This lovely lady counted for both Harriet and me because we swam in the same lane.



Signs are posted around the pool that tell the stories of people whom WCRC has helped and supported.



As always, there is a continuous assortment of wonderful food to keep all swimmers, their fans, and the many WCRC volunteers and staff well nourished.




One of the many booths at the Swim A Mile was a hand craft booth where people were fabricating Happy Cells...a fun way to wage war on Cancer cells.



For as long as I can remember, Ali has been the one to organize the entire Swim A Mile. This year was no exception. She was here, there, and everywhere for both days of the event.



An Honor Roll of repeat Swim A Mile swimmer lists the names and the number of years they've swum.



These are the people in whose memory I swam:



These are the people in whose honor I swam:



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Bev, Thank you for wonderful pictures, all inspiring, to women and yourself that have survived breast cancer. I will continue to support you and your swims. OMG you look GREAT!

Nancy Overton said...

Beverly,

Congratulations on your 13th year.

This was only my second year at the event.

I was there on Sunday at the healthy cells booth helping thread needles and tie embroidery knots to sew up those creative felt circles representing healthy cells for a $5 donation per cell. We had one little girl that stayed for an hour and made three beautiful creations and fathers helping sons to sew. It was great!

Nancy Overton

Nancy Overton said...

Bev,
It was nice to meet you on Saturday at the Harvest Fair in Lafayette.

Thanks for purchasing my tea cards.If you'd like to sell them with your book,you may have them at the wholesale price.

You can email me at ostudios@earthlink.net

Nancy Overton

Anonymous said...

What a lovely overview of the event. Thank you so much for supporting WCRC. Margo

Anonymous said...

Dear Beverly,
You looked great at the Swim A Mile! You have done the swim 13 times, Congratulations!! I honor you and all the people that you honor and remember at the Swim a Mile. I have the honor of mailing all sorts of Swim a mile stuff and do volunteer work at the WCRC office. Thank you for the great pictures. I wish you many years of good health and keep on swimmimg.

Frank Severa said...

Beverly thank you so much for what you do. I well remember when you were just recovering how strong you were and what an inspiration you were for others.

There is NO question in my mind that you are receiving many special blessings. I am also sure that Phyllis who got beat by cancer is also thanking you.

Frank