Shelton Teens Team Up to Swim Across the Sound

Camaraderie and friendship are not the only inspiration for a team of local teens participating on Saturday, August 6 in the 24th Annual SWIM Across the Sound Marathon. St. Vincent's SWIM Across the Sound provides cancer education, screening and prevention programs for the community. Five young and impressive Shelton swimmers, ranging in age from 15 to 18, formed the Shelton Brook Relay Team.  They join a field of over 250 swimmers for a 15.5 mile journey across the Long Island Sound from Port Jefferson, NY to Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, CT. 

These teens have swum together competitively for years, both for and the Shelton Monroe Rapids Swim Team. This time they collaborated, using their talents to help people in their own community.

The team is led by returning swimmer and captain, Matthew Hellauer, and includes returning swimmer James Szabo, youngest member Cole Chavez (15), and Timothy Maloney who fittingly deemed it a “noble cause”. 

Joining her male teammates is 17-year-old Kaitlyn Siriano who grew up around the SWIM. Participating in it has always been her goal, as it supports a great cause. Kaitlyn also has a personal side to her motivation. Her boyfriend’s mom, now cancer free for five years, battled Stage 3 cancer and survived.

Kaitlyn says it is, “cases like hers that make me realize how important it is to raise money for the SWIM Foundation”. 

Each relay team must raise $7,500, averaging about $1,500 a swimmer. To support their fundraising efforts, at 834 Bridgeport Ave. is proudly hosting a SWIM Across the Sound Night on Tuesday, July 19. When you bring the SWIM/Chili’s flyer with you on that night, 10 percent of food and drink sales will be donated to the team. The flyer is available by calling the St. Vincent’s Foundation office at 203-576-5451.

The festivities at Captain’s Cove Seaport are open to the public.The fastest swimmers are expected to cross the finish line at approximately 2:30 p.m., depending on the weather. The majority of the field will jockey for the finish line at about 4:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow at 7:00 p.m.

About St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound

St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound is a charitable, grassroots organization run by the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation of Bridgeport. Since 1987, the SWIM has had a unique niche, providing cancer education, screening and prevention 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 needs, such as the funding of wigs and prostheses, medication assistance, free transportation to treatments and appointments, day-care scholarships, support groups and more. The charity raises funds through events such as the SWIM Marathon, Breast Cancer Luncheon, Walk/Run for Cancer and Prostate Cancer Celebrity Dinner. Wherever possible, the SWIM covers costs and expenses of events through corporate sponsorships, and staffing overhead is covered by the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation.

The SWIM’s main area of reach is eastern Fairfield County, but outreach programs extend to other areas of Connecticut with the SWIM’s Smokestoppers and Mobile Mammography Programs and annual fund raisers for New Haven County, as well as support for Connecticut’s first responders and correction officers with cancer. The state-wide SWIM’s Smokestoppers program has reached more than 140,000 children and adults. The SWIM raised $2.6 million in the 2010 fiscal year and helps more than 20,000 people annually. For more information, contact the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation at (203) 576-5451 or visit www.swimacrossthesound.org.