By Brandon McKinley
East High School junior Sophia Swanson started swimming competitively at 8 years old.
This year, she challenged herself: Could she swim three miles in 75 minutes?
To help motivate herself, she offered a challenge to her community: Could we raise $1,000 for Metro Caring?
She launched her swim-a-thon fundraiser, “Making a Splash for Metro Caring,” and promised that if the $1,000 goal were surpassed, she would swim an extra 100 meters of “backwards freestyle,” which she attests “really is a thing.”
To get her friends, family, and community involved, Sophia worked with Metro Caring’s Development Coordinator Madi Matheny to set up a custom fundraising webpage. Then, Sophia created a QR code and made a poster to put up around her swim club. She asked her coach to share the fundraiser with the families of her teammates, and she personally reached out to family and friends.
“I’m very passionate about what Metro Caring does for my community,” she wrote on her fundraiser page, “and hope that you will help me hit or exceed my goal.”
Sophia got over a dozen supporters, many of whom she introduced to Metro Caring’s anti-hunger mission, including her grandparents. Others had already heard of Metro Caring’s work in the community, like a parent of her teammate who regularly donates shampoos and soaps to our Fresh Foods Market.
Together, they met Sophia’s $1,000 goal—even exceeding it by $5.
So, on May 16, Sophia took to the pool, motivated by her community to swim what turned out to be 98 laps within 5 minutes of her time goal.
East High School junior Sophia Swanson swims three miles—98 laps—for her swim-a-thon fundraiser for Metro Caring.
“I think it’s really important to get creative and figure out how to combine things you love to support a good cause,” Sophia said, referring to swimming and Metro Caring’s mission. “It’s really motivating when I’m raising money by doing something I love.”
This isn’t the first time Sophia has swam in support of Metro Caring and ending hunger. In 8th grade, she ran a similar fundraiser for a class capstone service project. She swam two miles in two hours and exceeded her $500 goal.
“I definitely learned that I could combine something that I love with making a difference in my community,” Sophia said. “I think fighting hunger is a great cause and I love being able to make a difference.”
Sophia grew up hearing about Metro Caring from her parents, who have supported the organization for years. Sophia volunteered with her mom in Metro Caring’s Fresh Foods Market and her family has a history of involvement in public service and food access. Her grandfather was an emeritus professor of the International Agriculture Development at the University of Illinois. His life’s work was focused on working with farmers in other countries to help feed local communities. Her aunt worked for Feeding America, and grandma was an attorney and appellate judge for the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve been exposed to this my whole life,” she said. “It means a lot because my family has been doing it for so long, and food insecurity is a great cause to be supporting.”
Next year, she wants to organize her entire swim team to launch a similar fundraiser. She hopes by working together, they can increase the goal, and then they’ll be able to all swim together in the end.
Sophia’s fundraiser shows how you can find creative ways to support causes you care about.
Other volunteers and local groups have created unique fundraisers to engage their community. Volunteer Chloe Rekow biked 250 miles roundtrip from Denver to Wyoming, raising over $1,200 for Metro Caring. The Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division hosts “Roll Out the Barrels” annually, inviting law firms around the city to a friendly fundraising challenge in place of a former canned food drive.
“People want to give back to the community, but they sometimes don’t know how,” Sophia said. “If you give them the opportunity, they want to help.”
Sophia plans to host her swim-a-thon annually. She said her younger sister already has ideas to continue the fundraiser once Sophia heads off to college—where she hopes to keep swimming.
And yes, Sophia certainly watched the Olympics, and she rooted for Denverite swimmer Emma Weber—who came home with a gold!
You can combine a passion or hobby with your dedication to Metro Caring’s mission of ending hunger at its root with a unique fundraiser. It’s a great way to share your values and issues you care about proudly with others. We can assist in creating a specialized donation page and share resources like our logo and posters to help you.
When we all bring our unique passions, skills, and communities to the table, we truly have an abundance of community to build our movement to end hunger.