More than 170 swimmers of all ages, including five-year-olds on noodles, raised more than $50,000 at Gulliver Schools’ recent second annual Make a Splash Swim- A-Thon at the Preparatory Campus Aquatic Center.
Proceeds from the Swim-A-Thon will support the school’s Annual Fund, benefitting the Gulliver Booster Club and the Performing and Visual Arts departments. A special gift will be made to KiDZ Neuroscience Center at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis in honor of Woody Beckham, a Gulliver alumnus confined to a wheelchair after suffering a tragic accident playing rugby.
“This year’s Swim-A-Thon was really great. My teammates, teachers, classmates, and even members of the administration all came out to have fun and help raise more than $50,000,” said Connor Kuci, student chair for the Swim-A-Thon. “Everyone who participated allowed us to raise money that will help us to make an even larger donation this year to KiDZ Neuroscience Center at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis; a really significant contribution to a meaningful cause that will help one of our alumni. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Swim-A-Thon and I’m proud of the success that we were all able to achieve.”
Many participants, including Gulliver swim and water polo teams, students, parents, faculty and alumni joined in the event. More than 200 families working and attending the event cheered the students on as they each earned money by swimming a maximum of 72 laps, a mile.
The top fundraiser for the second year in a row was Senior David Mills, who raised $9,500. Among the other top fundraisers was Mekayla Frazier, who arrived after her soccer game and swam a mile to raise more than $2,700. A family of triplet third graders swam together and raised another $2,000. Two sisters, age five and seven, swam together and raised more than $1,000.
