Swim across America to raise funds

By Phyllis Brown

* What:

Six Olympians and 125 other accomplished swimmers will tackle the San Francisco Bay in the second annual Swim Across America 10-mile relay swim to fight pediatric cancer.

* When:

Sunday, September 30, beginning at 7 a.m. and ending at approximately 1 p.m.

* Where:

Swimmers will board the ship the San Francisco Spirit and travel to Alcatraz Island where they will enter the water and begin the swim. The swim will conclude at Crissy Field.

* Who:

Olympic swimmers will include Ray Carey, Jeff Float, Janel Jorgenson, Roc Santos, Susan Preston and Anne Warner Cribbs, as well as 125 other accomplished swimmers.


* Contact:

Media interested in covering the event or arranging interviews with event participants should contact the UCSF News Office at (415) 476-2557. Media should contact Anne Warner Cribbs, (650) 856.3200 or (415)264.2067 (cell), on the day of the event.

Swim Across America is not a race. Groups of swimmers will take turns swimming for approximately one half hour during the six-hour-long event. The swim is expected to raise approximately $100,000 through pledges of donations from supporters. All proceeds will benefit pediatric cancer care at UCSF Children’s Hospital. The first swim, held last year, raised more than $65,000 to support the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Clinic.

The swim is sponsored by Swim Across America, a national non-profit organization that has raised over $18 million for cancer research, treatment and prevention, through holding open water and pool swim events across the United States. For more information, to swim, volunteer or get involved, visit www.swimacrossamerica.org .

One of the nation’s top children’s hospitals, UCSF Children’s Hospital creates an environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the healing edge of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond.

UCSF is a leading university that advances health worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences and health professions, and providing complex patient care.