DUE TODAY - RSVP For the Swim-A-Thon Celebration

Jory Blauer

What a great Swim-A-Thon last Wednesday night!  It was amazing to see our pool full of swimmers pushing their hardest to go the distance, and boy did they go the distance.  Collectively, our HPAC swimmers swam 163 miles!!!  Basically, our HPAC swimmers left Highland Park High School and came within 15 miles of Lambeau Field in Greenbay WI.  Amazing!

There is still time to raise some money post swim-a-thon.  We are as a team at just shy of $14,000!!!

** Please consider corporate matching if your employer offers this - super easy way to double the money!!!

 

CLICK HERE to view our distance results (if I missed anyone, or have the wrong distance, let me know)

** We had a new HPAC club record:  Andrew Blauer finished all 200 lengths in 56:59 surpassing the previous record of 59:05

 

Now for the fun part:  PIES IN THE FACE!

We now have 8 swimmers who have so far raised enough money to pie coach Jory in the face:  Kensi Curran $750, Mikayla Widman $610, Owen Hershberger $550, Alexandra Phillips $550, Jacob Olian $524, Olivia Lile $520, Harlin Smith $501 & Rory Blanck $500 - THERE IS STILL TIME TO REACH FOR THE PIE.

 

SWIM-A-THON CELEBRATION: Sunday, October 20th @ Sunset Woods Park in HP (the large gazebo)

MUST RSVP BY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th

CLICK HERE for the signup genius rsvp

 

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FROM DANA SMITH - Her daughter Harlin raised $501 in less than 24 hours:

CLICK HERE - to watch the cutest & most effective marketing videos - EVER

Hi HPAC Parents,
 
My daughter is new to HPAC, and I was hesitant about the Swim-a-thon. Between her school and sports, we're asked to do several fundraisers throughout the year; I don't have a lot of time, and I'm hesitant to ask friends and family for donations. 
 
But when I looked into USA Swimming Foundation, I realized it's a really good cause, and this is an opportunity to teach my daughter about philanthropy. In less than 24 hours, she raised $500, and I wanted to share our approach in case it's helpful for anyone. I posted the following message on social media with a short video of her "ask" in her own words. After reaching her goal, we posted a second "thank you" video.
 
"Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States for children aged 1-4 and the second leading cause for children under the age of 14. We’ve been fortunate to have access to pools and the means to take lessons, and Harlin wants to help give that opportunity to other kids. On Oct 8th, she is participating in a Swim-a-thon with a goal of raising $500. The fundraiser supports her team, but a portion of the proceeds goes to USA Swimming Foundation - the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Their mission is to provide the opportunity for every person in the U.S. to learn to swim, and according to their website, one month of swim lessons for a child can cost as little as $50.Take a look at Harlin's pitch - it has been refined a bit since she called her grandpa and said, "If I swim the length of the pool 50 times, you gotta give me 50 bucks. 😂” 
 
If you're interested in the Swim-a-thon but have questions or need help with the fundraising piece, feel free to reach out to me. Although I don't typically do this type of fundraising, I work in philanthropy and would be happy to help in any way I can.
 
Dana Smith

 

Our Annual HPAC Swim-A-Thon is here!  The team had so much fun last year, we are excited for more cheering, laughing & prideful joy!

We have a team goal of raising $20,000.  If our swimmers earn on average $150, we will meet our goal!!! 

 

HPAC SWIM-A-THON DATE:

Wednesday, October 9th 5:45-8:00p @ Highland Park High School - all groups swim at the same time (The Swim-A-Thon takes the place of regular practice - All groups at the same time at the High School)

 

WHAT IS THE SWIM-A-THON:

HPAC runs an annual Swim-A-Thon under our parent organization USA Swimming.  Hundreds of clubs just like HPAC across the United States run an annual Swim-A-Thon to raise money not only for their swim club, but also for the charitable organization USA Swimming Foundation.  The foundation uses all Swim-A-Thon proceeds to fund their MAKE A SPLASH program which offers free swimming lessons to underprivileged families.  Learning to swim can safe a life!

READ ALL ABOUT THE USA SWIMMING FOUNDATION HERE

 

HOW IT WORKS - 3 step process

 

STEP 1: Making a Goal

You and your swimmer will talk about the Swim-A-Thon and come up with a goal.  Swimmers have 2 hours to swim as many lengths as they can (a length is 1 time across the pool or 25 yards).  The max allowed lengths for all swimmers in 2 hours is 200 lengths.  For some of our older swimmers, 200 lengths is rather easy to complete in 2 hours so they make a time goal, for example, 200 lengths in 1 hour 15 minutes (that is like doing 50 x 100s at 1:30 interval), or 200 lengths in 1 hour 40 minutes (that is like doing 50 x 100s at 2:00 interval).

Some parents and swimmers of our younger groups may not know how many lengths is a good goal so here is a guide:

MINI GIANTS:  A good goal would be somewhere between 50 - 100

LITTLE GIANTS:  75-125

MIGHTY GIANTS: 125-200 & some may want to make a time goal to complete all 200

GIANTS, GIANTS PERFORMANCE, GIANTS ELITE & SENIOR:  Make a time goal to complete all 200 

 

STEP 2: Fundraising

Once your swimmer has a goal, start promoting that goal and ask relatives, friends, coworkers and neighbors to donate to our cause.

 

2 WAYS TO ASK: 

1) You can ask for a donation per length - EXAMPLE:  Jenny plans to swim 100 lengths in 2 hours please pledge $1 per length. 

2) OR you can ask for a flat donation to attempt the goal - EXAMPLE:  Jenny plans to swim 100 lengths, please help motivate her by donating $100 to our cause.

 

2 WAYS TO PROMOTE: 

1) You can either do this the old fashioned way and ask in person/by phone,

2) OR, you can take advantage of our TU Money HPAC Swim-A-Thon dashboard.  If you ask in person & receive cash/check in hand, we ask that you still upload that donation into your TU Money Dashboard - WE ARE ALL ELECTRONIC FOR RESULTS

 

TU MONEY HPAC SWIM-A-THON DASHBOARD:  You will notice on our website there is a USA Swimming Swim-A-Thon banner BELOW our team pictures (you have to scroll down just a bit on the home page).  This is a clickable link that will take you directly to your swimmer's Swim-A-Thon dashboard (you must be logged into HPAC with your login & password).  Here you will find the "nuts n bolts" of your swimmer's electronic Swim-A-Thon fundraising.

 

It is easy to set up your swimmer's TU Money Swim-A-Thon fundraising.  CLICK HERE for a step by step guide.

 

STEP 3:  Promoting your swimmer

 

In the TU Money Swim-A-Thon dashboard, by following the step by step guide, you will learn how to successfully promote your swimmer's Swim-A-Thon.

  • Upload your your Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Aol, etc  contacts into your dashboard and promote directly by email. 
  • Promote your swimmer's Swim-A-Thon thru Facebook messanger - directly promote to chosen friends, coworkers and relatives
  • Directly link your swimmer's Swim-A-Thon on your facebook and other social media feeds.

 

THE FUN PART:  SWIM-A-THON NIGHT, PRIZES & A BIG PARTY AFTER

 

SWIM-A-THON NIGHT: 

Wednesday, October 9th we will run our swim-a-thon at the Highland Park HS 5:45-8:00p.  Our swimmers will swim from 6-8pm.  ALL PARENTS and siblings are invited and encouraged to join us on deck and help count our swimmers lengths.  We will be playing some fun music while we cheer our swimmers on!!!  It really is a super fun experience for everyone.

 

PRIZES:

HPAC will be offering prizes to our swimmers who raise the most money & swimmers who reach a certain finacial threshold.  You can view the attached flier, here is a summary:

  1. All swimmers who raise at least $50 are invited to a big HPAC Swim-A-Thon party Sunday, October 20th 12noon-2pm at TBD.  Delicious catered food and water/juice/soda will be served.  
  2. All swimmers who raise at least $200 will receive a one of a kind HPAC Swm-A-Thon swim cap
  3. All swimmers who raise at least $300 will receive a one of a kind HPAC T-shirt
  4. All swimmers who raise at least $500 will be allowed to throw a cream pie in Coach Jory's face at the HPAC Swim-A-Thon party.  Oh what fun this is for everyone EXCEPT Coach Jory!!!
  5. The top money earner by group (mini, little, mighty, giants, gp, ge & sr) will earn the right to race the coaches at a fun relay practice TBD.
  6. We have a team goal of raising $20,000.  If our swimmers earn on average $150, we will meet our goal!!!