The local Swim 4 Humanity fundraising event, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 20 at Los Baños Pool in Santa Barbara, will feature top U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy and SurfAid International founder Dr. Dave Jenkins participating to support SurfAid, a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the health, well-being and self-reliance of people living in isolated island regions of Western Sumatra.
“It means a lot to be a part of an organization and an event that is really making a difference in the lives of people, especially children, who are often overlooked even though they are in one of the most beautiful surfing and swimming destinations in the world,” Hardy said.
The annual Swim 4 Humanity will take place in eight cities in California — San Diego, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Francisco — Florida, New York and New Jersey.
Participants are sponsored by friends and family for a 30-minute lap swim. There also will be a competitive freestyle lap swim and fun relay race. Participants win prizes for levels of money raised as well as for the fun relay and competitive swim races.
The person who raises the most money will win an Indonesian surf trip worth $5,000, courtesy of World Surfaris and Joyo’s Surf Camp.
Swim 4 Humanity 2010 is open for individual and team registrations. Click here to register or for more information.
“This event was a great success last year raising over $60,000, and we hope to raise over $100,000 this year to support our health and nutrition, water and sanitation, and emergency preparedness programs in Indonesia,” Jenkins said.
— Javier Guerrero represents SurfAid International.