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Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
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People and Teams Pool Their Athletic Abilities for Fundraiser

More than 200 swimmers took to the UCSD Canyonview Aquatic Complex for 24 hours of swimming during the fourth annual Swim 24Challenge, a fundraiser for the Drowning Prevention Foundation of San Diego aka San Diego Junior Lifeguard Foundation.

Twenty teams of up to 12 swimmers swam laps in relay. Each team had one member in the pool the entire 24 hours. A total of 29,867 laps or 848 miles were swum.

Funds raised during the recent event were $100,000. The total funds raised for the Swim 24Challenge since 2014 is $370,000.

Special guests in attendance included San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman and San Diego Chief Lifeguard, Rick Wurtz.

The top fundraising team was the Qualcomm All Stars raising $20,632; the top fundraising individual was Quinn Cannon, who raised $2,975. The most laps were swum by the Bay City Swimmers with 2,079 laps or 59 miles and the top individual laps swum were by Elizabeth Schlicher with 614 laps or 17.5 miles.

This event is designed for swimmers of all ages and abilities. Along with the competitive divisions there is also an Anything Goes category, floats, body boards, swim fins. Visit swim24.org.

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San Diego-based nonprofit Women’s Empowerment International announced a milestone $1 million in funds raised locally and invested in poverty alleviation projects and small business loans for poor women in San Diego and in six countries around the world.

Locally, funding to the Women’s Empowerment STAR Center (a partnership with the International Rescue Committee has enabled low-income, refugee and immigrant women to start and grow 300 businesses in San Diego County, contributing to the creation of hundreds of jobs and renewed economic vibrancy in the communities of City Heights and El Cajon.

Paige Bradley, executive director of Women’s Empowerment said “When poor women have the funding, training and social support to start businesses, their children go to school, families get healthier and communities grow stronger.” 

Women’s Empowerment’s impact extends beyond U.S. borders to economically empower at-risk women through partnerships with nonprofits operating in Haiti, Uganda, Honduras and Mexico. Since 2006, Women’s Empowerment has funded an estimated 50,000 loans (includes initial funding plus recycled loan funding) and served an estimated 17,000 women through funding, training, education scholarships and support programs. Visit WomenEmpowerment.org.

• • •

The Fleet Science Center announced the two-year anniversary of 52 Weeks of Science, the popular science learning program in the community of Logan Heights and Barrio Logan. The announcement of the two-year anniversary in Logan Heights and Barrio Logan also coincides with the expansion of the program into the San Diego community of Clairemont.

52 Weeks of Science is a collaborative program that connects the community with local scientists and organizations that have an interest in giving back through STEM education. The partner scientists and organizations offer free science events hosted by community organizations, schools and parks. Since the program’s inception in October 2015, more than 7,500 people have participated in the neighborhood science events. The network of collaborating organizations partnering with the neighborhoods of Barrio Logan and Logan Heights has increased from 30 partners at the outset to more than 60 science, cultural, educational and community partners today.

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Father Joe’s Village announced that “Shine,” its animated short film that aims to reshape how homelessness is perceived, has been accepted into the San Diego International Film Festival.

San Diego-based marketing agency, i.d.e.a., created the storyline and teamed up with Golden Globe-nominated animation studio, Reel FX, to bring Father Joe’s Villages’ vision to life in this 3-minute film that was released in the spring. “The goal of the film is to provide a window into the struggle of those who are homeless,” Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages said. “It’s our hope that viewers will see what we see every day: that each person is filled with possibility and light. We hope our community will want to be a part of helping everyone in San Diego shine to their full potential.”

View “Shine” at youtu.be/B_4m-8-WHW0. It will also be shown Oct. 6 and 7 at the Arclight theater in La Jolla.

Send Kudos/Giving items to sglidden@sdbj.com.

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