Page 29 - JUNE 2022

June 2022
NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM
Page 29
By BRittany amalfi
Not too long ago, Phil and Julie Taub created “Swim with a Mission,” or SWAM, when they learned there was a sig- nificant need for the veterans who have given so much to our country. SWAM is a non-profit organization that supports Vet- eran Service Organizations. The main event features a swim across Newfound Lake. Over the years, the event has gained so much traction that hundreds of swimmers and volunteers show up to raise money for the veterans. This year marks their sixth year doing the event, and the organization successfully dis- persed over seven million dollars to veteran service organizations.
This year, the swim will be held on Saturday, July 16th, At Wellington State Park on New- found Lake in Bristol, NH. With about three hundred swimmers, they will participate in a 1K, 5K, and 10K individuals and a 10K relay with teams of three to five. When you register for the event, you will automatically receive a link to the fundraising page. The organization encourages volunteers to use this to create a unique page for their support- ers. Special recognition will be given to the top fundraisers, and awards will be presented to the top three in each age group in the individual categories and the top three relay teams. There will also be special awards given to the fastest swimmers in each distance.
Followed by the SWAM race, the organization will hold the “Celebration of Heroes” event from 4:00 PM to 9:30 PM. The event will have three live bands and demonstrations by the Green Beret. And the Navy Seals, Coast Guard, National Guard, and State Police will be involved as well. There will be fun activities for kids, a Green Beret challenge, and about 40 veteran service organizations will be there to connect with the community. The event will end with some fantastic fireworks!
On Friday, July 15th, 2022, the organization’s 2nd Annual Green Beret Challenge will take place. This fantastic event will
Swim with a Mission 2022
give adventure athlete teams the opportunity for a real challenge that Army Green Berets will lead. Each team will arrange a course with multiple stations where they will be required to complete Special Forces mission tasks that will challenge them mentally and physically. More information can be found on their website.
Phil and Julie had always wanted to start a swim race, and they thought Newfound Lake was the perfect place to do it. With the money they’ve raised, they select five to ten organi- zations a year where they can support their veterans. The ser- vices range from scholarships for children of a parent who died in service, taking care of homeless
veterans, providing rides and fi- nancial assistance to Veterans, providing health care services to Veterans, providing permanent
housing for Veterans, K9s for Veterans, and help with PTSD. Last year, Julie said, “We have big dreams about where we can go with this,” Julie said. Taub continued, “ We have big eyes, dreams, and a wonderful team, and we want to help.” With the impact Swim with a Mission has made over the past few years, the community is coming to- gether to help improve veterans’ lives in the best way they can. Taub stated, “The biggest les- son we’ve learned is that if you put your heads together, you can help people. This whole thing turned out to be more reward- ing than we ever thought.” And after speaking with Julie this year about the 2022 event, she had this to say. “When we started
doing this, we never dreamed that it would become so big, and we couldn’t be happier with everything that’s happened from the start.” In other excit- ing news, they are publishing a book called Portraits of Sacrifice and Bravery that will be released in July about veterans in New Hampshire! And SWAM has also launched the Honor Wall to honor the 93 New Hampshire service members who died fight- ing for our country. Now, people can purchase plaques to hang in their homes or businesses to honor the people who made the ultimate sacrifice. For more in- formation on the SWAM event, the organization, and donations, check out https://www.swam. org/.
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