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| SRI Sharks Team with San Jose Sharks mascot "Sharkie" |
Twenty-five
teams and hundreds of swimmers and volunteers will make a big splash at the 38th
Annual Abilities United Aquathon www.AbilitiesUnited.org/aquathon and https://www.facebook.com/events/1475144659394370/ on Sunday Sept 13th.
This
fun, family oriented event is scheduled from noon – 4 pm at the West Valley
College Nyquist Aquatic Center at 14000 Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga. The
fun-filled swim relay raises money for Abilities United services for
individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. Proceeds go
directly to the lifetime of services available to these individuals and the
community. The event have currently raised over $40,0000 toward the $120,000
goal. The Aquathon has grown exponentially since its beginnings in 1978
when it raised under $5,000.
Over
400 swimmers and volunteers from throughout the Peninsula and South Bay attend
the event. Event volunteers include the Homestead High School Interactor
Club of Cupertino.
The
swimmers and fundraisers include employees from throughout Silicon Valley,
participants and staff at Abilities United programs, and local community
residents. Lead sponsors of the Aquathon
2015 are Oracle and De Mattei Construction. Other sponsors include Captain
Kirk’s San Francisco Sailing, Homewood Suites by Hilton Palo Alto,
MarketRiders, Mulcahy Family Dentistry, Prodigy Press and SRI International.
The
Aquathon is a community and team-building event where people of all walks of
life, all ages and all abilities, swim side-by-side to raise money to help fund
the training, education, and support that Abilities United provides to people
with developmental and physical disabilities so they can reach their potential.
Each year,
one of these individuals is chosen to be the “honorary” swimmer to kick-off the
Aquathon with the inaugural swim. This
year's honorary swimmer is retired Executive Director of the Palo Alto Family YMCA, Dan Logan. In sharing his story, Dan said: “My wife and I have been donors to Abilities
United since 2001. We firmly believe in the services they provide to
people with disabilities and the value the organization brings to the
community. While I was happy to donate and be involved as captain of our
Aquathon team, I could not predict that one day I would actually need to use
Abilities United services. That day came in September 2002, at age 58,
when I suffered a spinal cord injury that fractured my spine at the neck.
Immediately, I lost the use of my muscles from the navel on down, paralyzing my
legs and I became a wheelchair user for the rest of my life.
After
eight weeks of intensive rehabilitation at the hospital, I went home to resume
my roles as husband and father, and community leader. To resume my life as best
as possible, I had to regain my strength and increase my flexibility and
ability to move. Right down the street from my house was the Abilities United
Aquatic Services. And as a career YMCA guy, I knew the benefits of water
exercise for people of any age and ability..
My
first venture outside of our home was to the Abilities United Betty Wright
Aquatic Services. With the help of my aquatics therapist, I used the warm,
buoyant water to enable me to stand on my feet, regain my sense of balance, and
get hundreds of hours of strength training and cardio exercise. I also learned
to make use of goggles and snorkel equipment.
All of
these enabled me to swim more than one hundred miles over three years,
including the miles I have swum at the Abilities United Aquathon. My team
and I have raised over $150,000 to help Abilities United provide services for
people like me, and the thousands of other community members, who need these
services. My Aquathon team - comprised of family members, friends, YMCA members
and staff, from preschool age to folks in their late sixties - has had a lot of
fun while making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.
As the 2015 Honorary Swimmer, I now have the opportunity to tell even more
people how important Abilities United services are for our community members
who live with a disability or may acquire a disability.
Why do
I contribute, raise funds, and keep swimming in the Aquathon? Well,
certainly because I need aquatic exercise and therapy. But more importantly, I
want to make sure Abilities United continues to provide these services to all
community members who do or can benefit its services in the years to come.” Dan’s
story is available on the Aquathon’s Honorary Swimmer page
http://www.abilitiesunited.org/honoree
New this year, Raquel Boales, a 14-year old gold
and silver award winning synchronized swimmer from Synchronized Swimming
Athletes with Disabilities, will demonstrate her solo synchro routine. Raquel
is one of the organization's Synchro Ambassadors and travels around the world to
inspire other countries to introduce synchronized swimming as a Paralympic
Sport. Based in San Jose, Synchronized Swimming Athletes with
Disabilities is an international advocacy and information group to help
people with disabilities (Physical/Intellectual/Cognitive) who can swim and/or
are interested or involved with the sport of synchronized swimming, will
also have an informational booth about their programs. It is appropriate to
have a synchronized swimming demonstration at the Abilities United Aquathon
because origins of synchronized swimming date back to 1907 and began with a
woman who had a “disability” as a child. At age six, professional swimmer
Annette Kellerman, wore steel braces to strengthen her weak legs. To
further overcome her disability, her parents enrolled her in swimming classes.
By the age of 13, she gained nearly complete leg strength, and by 15, she had
mastered all the swimming strokes and won her first race. In 1907, she performed
in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome as the first underwater
ballerina/synchronized swimmer.
The
Abilities United Aquathon epitomizes the vision of Abilities United, a society
where all people; of all abilities; learn, live, work, and play together
creating great fulfillment, benefit and unity for everyone. It is a
society where there are no barriers to the full inclusion and contribution of
people with disabilities and their families.
Teams,
made up of 6 to 8 people from all over the Bay Area, swim for 30-minutes to
raise funds. Corporate matches are added to team totals. Sponsors of the
Abilities United Aquathon include:
Silver/$5,000
·
Oracle (11
years as sponsor, 20 years of team swimming!)
·
De
Mattei Construction of San Jose (4 years as sponsor)
Bronze ($2,500)
sponsor in 2015 is:
·
Laurie
T. Jarrett (A friend and supporter of Abilities United for 40 years.)
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