BRIDGEPORT—On Saturday, August 3, seventeen-year-old Trumbull resident Julia Nevins and members of the Trumbull Pisces will take turns swimming 15.5 miles from Port Jefferson, New York, across Long Island Sound, to Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport in the 32nd Annual SWIM Across the Sound Marathon.
Marking her fourth consecutive year participating in the Marathon, Julia and her relay team “Pisces Pride” are eager to get back into the water. Julia will be swimming in honor of Matt Marshall, a family friend currently battling a cancer diagnosis. “I’ll be thinking of him throughout this swim, along with Edna Borchetta, a ‘swim mom’ who has become a family friend and is recovering from breast cancer,” Julia explained. “Each year I try to choose a different person to swim for.”
Along with “Pisces Pride,” the swim club is also being represented by a second relay team, Pisces Strong. Comprised of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen-year-olds, Julia describes the Pisces teams as committed. “Since there are more kids on our club team than there are spots available for the Marathon teams, we all have to write letters to our coach about why we want to swim. I think that speaks for itself about the kind of dedicated swimmers we have.” Julia went on to share more about her experience. “Most kids are new to the Marathon so, as someone who has gone through it, it has been fun to pass down advice and stories to make them even more excited!”
Julia, who has been swimming since she was ten years old, is motivated by her commitment to the cause and her love for the team. “I swim to help the families in a way that couldn’t be more direct,” she said. “I am so thankful that I can participate in the SWIM marathon because I know the affect it will have on the people who need it. It’s not even so much an opportunity to help others; it’s an honor. If swimming for eight hours means giving families who have been hit with cancer an easier time, I’m all in without thinking twice!”
She is also inspired by her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when Julia was 12. “All is well and good with my mom now, but the silver lining is that I now understand the urgency of building support systems for those who have been diagnosed, and the SWIM does just that.”
The Trumbull Pisces swim club has participated in the Marathon for the last 7 years. “Everyone is in this with their whole heart, ready to brave the Sound and make a difference in people’s lives.”
There are several ways you can support Julia and the Trumbull Pisces. Donate online at https://give.stvincents.org/ and join the excitement live, on Saturday, August 3, 2019, at Captain’s Cove in Bridgeport as the swimmers cross the finish line.
About St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound
St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound is a charitable not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization run by the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation of Bridgeport, Conn. Since 1987, the SWIM has had a unique niche helping individuals and families struggling through the difficult changes that cancer brings with it. The SWIM serves approximately 30,000 people annually by providing over 45 programs, including cancer education, screening, prevention and support programs at low- or no-cost for the uninsured and underinsured. In addition, the SWIM helps individual cancer patients on a case-by-case basis with specific financial assistance, funding of wigs and prostheses, medication assistance, free transportation to treatments and appointments, day-care scholarships, support groups and more.
(For more information, contact the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation at 203.576.5451 or visit www.SwimAcrossTheSound.org.)
