Swim Across America Fairfield County Marks 20 Years of Making Waves to Fight Cancer  

For 20 years, Swim Across America – Fairfield County has brought together swimmers, volunteers, boaters, cancer survivors, families, Olympians and supporters to make waves to fight cancer.

The 20th annual open water swim took place on Saturday at Dolphin Cove in Stamford, and some of the Greenwich-area families and volunteers who helped build the swim from its earliest days were once again be on the beach, in the water and behind the scenes.

The annual swim benefits Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT), headquartered in Stamford and the nation’s only nonprofit dedicated to funding cancer cell and gene therapy. Established in 2007, Swim Across America – Fairfield County has raised more than $8.2 million for cancer research, supporting dozens of cancer research grants advancing better treatments and clinical trials for brain cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, osteosarcoma, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, solid tumors and, this year, ovarian cancer.

“This 20th year is a milestone for Swim Across America – Fairfield County, but it is also a celebration of those who have shown up year after year to make this swim possible,” said Nancy Carr, event director of Swim Across America – Fairfield County and a two-time cancer survivor. “Families like the Colligans, the Bass family, the Carlsons, the Bradys and so many longtime volunteers and supporters from Greenwich and surrounding towns are the reason this swim has become such a powerful community tradition.”

Some of the Greenwich residents marking 20 years with the swim are Rob and Julie Colligan of Old Greenwich. Rob has been both a swimmer and land volunteer, while Julie has also swum in past years and serves as the volunteer coordinator for the event, helping manage the hundreds of volunteers who make the morning run smoothly on land. Their family has been part of the swim since the beginning, lending time, energy and heart to the event year after year. In fact, Rob and Julie’s children Elizabeth and Owen have been stuffing swag bags and working set-up since they were toddlers. They now volunteer on the water paddleboarding and kayaking to keep swimmers safe.

Roberta Bass, of Greenwich, and her sons Jesse Bass, also of Greenwich, and Daniel Bass, of Portland, Connecticut, have also been swimming and volunteering for 20 years. This year is especially meaningful for Roberta, who is celebrating 20 years as a cancer survivor. The family tradition is now continuing to the next generation, with Roberta’s 5-year-old grandson, Julien, participating in the Kids’ Splash. Roberta and her sons first learned of Swim Across America from a flyer in her oncologist’s office. While this will be their 20th year with Swim Across America – Fairfield County, it is actually their 21st year with Swim Across America, as the first swim they ever did was one in the Hudson River.

Peter Carlson, of Riverside, is a 16-year participant and one of the event’s top fundraisers. Carlson first supported the swim from the water as a boating volunteer, helping keep swimmers safe, before eventually becoming a swimmer himself. In recent years, he has swum the 3-mile course and has been both the top individual fundraiser and top team fundraiser as captain of Team Julian, which swims in memory of Julian Fraser. Carlson’s family also swims and volunteers, including his daughter, Porter.

This year Peter is swimming in memory of his brother-in-law, Allan Gulliver, who lost his multi-year battle with lung cancer last August at age 71, and for his friend, Stephanie Dunn Ashley, who was recently diagnosed with appendiceal cancer, and is undergoing treatment with a positive long-term prognosis. Stephanie is the CEO of the American Red Cross Metro NY North Chapter based in Greenwich and has volunteered her time with Swim Across America and other community events for many years.

The swim’s long history also includes many who helped build the event from the start and continue to come back year-after-year. Melissa Norrgard, of Old Greenwich, has volunteered with the swim since the very beginning. Kerry Anderson, of Riverside, was one of the swim’s original event directors and has remained a fixture at the event each year. Anderson’s father, Don Fowley, volunteered at every swim until his passing from cancer in 2022, and Anderson also lost her mother to cancer when she was younger.

John and Cindy Sites, longtime honorary co-chairs and supporters of Swim Across America – Fairfield County, helped bring Swim Across America together with Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy and have continued to support the swim and its mission. Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona has also been a beloved fixture at the Fairfield County swim, sharing her Olympic medals and star power with young swimmers and families at the event. De Varona and her husband, John Pinto, have also served as honorary co-chairs. Greenwich Olympian Cristina Teuscher has also been a longtime supporter of the swim, always bringing her family and a team of volunteers.

On the water, Sean Brady has served as boating captain since the beginning, helping rally boating volunteers to line the course and keep swimmers safe in Long Island Sound. His wife, Margot Brady, has also been a land volunteer for close to 20 years, helping support the event from shore.

“These are the ones who make the swim happen,” Nancy Carr noted. “Some swim, some volunteer, some captain boats, some kayak or stand up paddle board, or organize teams, and some cheer from shore, but every single person plays a role in helping fund research that gives cancer patients and families hope. I started as a land volunteer and always say you don’t have to swim to make a difference.”

Saturday’s event welcomed swimmers of all ages and skill levels, with a half-mile, 1.5-mile and 3-mile swim course. Children ages 11 and younger participated in a fun Kids’ Splash along the shore, and a virtual SAA My Way option was also available.

This year’s featured ACGT researcher supported by Swim Across America – Fairfield County was Joseph Fraietta, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, whose work is focused on developing new treatments for ovarian cancer. Fraietta attended the swim and presented the cutting-edge research being advanced through local support of the swim. Laurie Adami, who grew up in Westport, Connecticut, was a featured speaker at the event. She endured a 12-year cancer battle and credits her life being saved by CAR T-cell therapy, which was funded by the swim’s beneficiary ACGT.

Established in 2007, Swim Across America – Fairfield County has raised more than $8.2 million for cancer research, supporting ACGT, headquartered in Stamford and the nation’s only nonprofit dedicated to funding cancer cell and gene therapy. The swim has supported dozens of cancer research grants advancing better treatments and clinical trials for brain cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, osteosarcoma, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, solid tumors and, this year, ovarian cancer. Each year, the event hosts more than 250 swimmers and hundreds of volunteers, spectators and supporters, as well as Olympic swimmers.

Nationally, Swim Across America has raised more than $150 million for cancer research since its founding in 1987 and has helped fund clinical trials that contributed to the FDA-approved cancer immunotherapy medications Keytruda, Opdivo, Yervoy and Tecentriq. In the past year, Swim Across America funded a breakthrough clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering that showed that immunotherapy alone could successfully treat certain types of cancer. The organization also recently awarded two first-of-its-kind gene editing innovation grants to the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, advancing novel CRISPR gene and base editing techniques used in targeted therapies, immunotherapies and cellular therapies. Swim Across America supports more than 60 cancer research projects annually, has eight named Swim Across America labs, and supports work at many of the nation’s leading cancer institutions.

It is still possible to donate at swimacrossamerica.org/fc.

Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With open water and pool swims in 27 communities across the United States – from Nantucket to under the Golden Gate Bridge – Swim Across America, along with the help of thousands of swimmers and volunteers nationwide, and past and current Olympians, is helping find better treatments and a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more, visit swimacrossamerica.org.