Ryde AUSSI Masters Swimming Club (RAMS) holds a charity ‘swimathon’ every year. This year, JDRF Australia is lucky enough to be the recipient of funds raised by the competitors! Club member, Ken, was inspired to raise money for JDRF by his two daughters, both of whom were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) at 22 years old, one just recently. Ken and his wife Joanne would like to see a world for their daughters without T1D, and are relying on the research progress of JDRF to help get there.
Wednesday 18 May at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre saw a normal club night open to all, with relay style races, money tin shakers, lap recording station, multiple spectators and an official score board. The main event was a 50m relay in teams of four, with the objective being to have fun, make friends and swim as far possible in the time period of 1.5 hours.
Ken commented, “It all added a lot of fun, rivalry and a bit of a spectacle for the public taking their kids to swimming lessons.”
Collectively, the five relay teams and one solo swimmer swam 31.75km, and have so far raised more than $3,700 for JDRF and the swimming club (proceeds will be split). Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre kindly supported the event by subsidising lane hire.
“My two T1D daughters ran the lap recording job, and the general public was supportive toward those trotting around with cash collecting tins. The banners you gave us helped raise the JDRF visibility,” said Ken.
You can donate to Ken’s Team Cure Diabetes fundraising page here.
Inspired by Ken and the rest of the Ryde AUSSI Swimmers?
Create a personal fundraising campaign that fits your interests, time and talents at Team Cure Diabetes. Your fundraiser could be anything from running a trivia night to holding a backyard BBQ or garage sale, or even registering a donations page to collect donations for your birthday instead of presents. Make your fundraiser as big or as small as you want!
Team Cure Diabetes is proudly supported by Abbott.