There is something priceless about being helpful and empowered in the face of a disease that has a way of making us feel utterly powerless. What I know is it doesn’t have to be that way, and how liberating it is to bring a team together and make things happen when you weren’t sure you could. That’s the essence of SwimBowen.
On Saturday, July 16 at 10 am, our sold out registration of 60 swimmers will dive into Tunstall Bay on Bowen’s west shore to swim for those in cancer treatment or palliative care. Since 2019 we have gifted an extraordinary $47,800 to support islanders in need.
Having gone through it myself in 2013, I was ever so aware of how devastating lengthy treatment can be to one’s entire life. To borrow an expression of my Dad’s, the experience knee-capped me. I wondered how anyone got through it without the means (financial or otherwise) to ride the arduous treatment wave. What I knew beyond a doubt was that there was a gap in our community care, and SwimBowen could begin to fill that gap all while encouraging people to set a goal, get fit and jump in our Salish Sea to swim, swim, swim! There truly is no downside.
Prize Alert! Swimmers, want to win the top prize? It’s a two night Whistler Getaway package valued at $2,000! Amazing! Have your fans hop on the swimbowen.com home page as there is an option to “Sponsor a Swimmer”. They can search your name there. Or send them your personal page link so they can support your swim.
Thanks to the stunning generosity of SwimBowen’s 2022 corporate and private sponsors, the top fundraiser wins (drum roll): two nights at a 1-bedroom condo at Delta Suites (bookable in 2023), two Whistler Blackcomb lift tickets, Scandinave Spa for two, topped off with a $200 gift certificate to Il Caminetto.
A big high-five to our superb lineup of corporate and in-kind sponsors: Whistler Blackcomb, First Credit Union, Artisan Eats, Vancouver Diving Locker, Team Aquatics, SwimBuddy, Ratcliffe LLP, Bowen Island Wellness Centre, Tunstall Bay Beach Club, Positively Fit, Rainforest Digital, Tuscany, Cocoa West, Mary Lynn Machado Realtor, Barry Thomas Realtor, Brian Smallwood (Mr California!), Frank Gish and Joanna Mereu, and Gord Wolters.
SwimBowen’s sponsors celebrate and support what a small grassroots organization can accomplish in a big way. Want to hop an as a sponsor? We would love to hear from you! Send us a message swimbowensociety@gmail.com
Love what we do but you’re not a swimmer? Come out and volunteer! From water marshaling to parking attendants - you can choose your desired station and help support the best little event in the Gulf Islands. You can sign up online via the swimbowen.com home page or email us swimbowensociety@gmail.com
Donating to the Cancer Care Fund supports Bowen Island residents in active cancer treatment and palliative care. Our unique mandate (no other organization does quite what we do at the level we do it) and timely gifts ranging between $1,500 and $2,000 are making an immense impact for individuals and families enduring this difficult time.
Eligible Cancer Care recipients are Bowen Island residents prescribed any combination of cancer treatment - radiation, surgery, chemotherapy - as well as those in palliative care. Individuals who have been prescribed cancer treatment but are choosing alternative therapies instead are also eligible.
We are proud to be a small, boots on the ground event in the heart of the Salish Sea doing big things. Thanks for helping us get there!
