Girl Scouts sell cookies. Firefighters fill their boots. Sororities host car washes. In swimming, our go-to fundraiser is the famous swim-a-thon.
Michael Phelps, along with thousands of Speedo swimmers, friends, and family, took the Swim-a-thon to a whole new level on June 25th. Phelps, British Olympic Champion Rebecca Adlington, and 9,915 of their colleagues teamed up for the World Swim Against Malaria, a 1-day event that pulled in $193,000 to raise money for much-needed mosquito nets. This will protect over 76,000 children and pregnant women from contracting malaria through mosquito nets while they sleep at night.
The group combined to swim over 40,074 kilometers (roughly 24,900 miles), which is the distance around the planet earth.
This effort was helped hugely by Speedo. The swim equipment giant showed incredible generosity by giving donors a free piece of swimwear for every $5 donated to the effort, up to 4 per sponsor. That promotion is still going on for anybody who still wants to give. Visit the Official World Swim Against Malaria website for details on how to give.
Even better, 100% of the donations go directly towards purchasing nets, so your donation will have a maximum impact. A group of businessmen in London have agreed to underwrite the very limited costs of the campaign, ensuring that all money raised can go directly to the effort.
