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Swimming for Refugees

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My name is Joelle Beard. I am an ultra-marathon swimmer. I swam 21 miles across English Channel in 2012, I swam 21 miles from Catalina Island to Los Angeles in 2013, in 2014 I swam 28.5 miles around Manhattan Island. Upon the completion of that swim, I became the 92nd person in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water swimming. In 2015 I had shoulder surgery, but in 2016 I was back in the water, where I did a 19-mile swim of Bear Lake, Utah/Idaho. I am now working toward accomplishing the Ocean’s 7 challenge that only seven people in the world have completed. My goal is to be in the first fifteen people. In October I am going to attempt my next swim in the challenge. I am going to Spain where I will swim 10 miles across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco.  

There are thousands of refugees crossing or attempting to cross the Mediterranean each day. In the first half of 2017, 85,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean. Over 2,000 people have died in the attempt to make it to Europe just in the first part of 2017. For those who do make it to Europe, life is still difficult. Italy and Greece, the countries where most refugees go are overwhelmed and do not have adequate funding and means to help all the refugees coming into their countries.  

 Each ultra-marathon swim (swims over 10 kilometers) costs approximately $5,000. I have paid for each of my swims on my own thus far. For my Europe to Africa swim across the Strait of Gibraltar, I would like to donate money for refugee aid. I am hoping to raise $15,000. This would help put $2,500 of the $5,000 for the swim. All the remaining money would be donated to the UN Refugee Agency, where 74% percent of the money goes to refugees fleeing Africa, to Unicef USA, where 90% of the money goes to refugees, and to the International Rescue Committee where 92% of the money goes to refuges. However, no matter the amount I raise, at least 65% will be donated to refugees.  Even just $30 can provide mats for refugees to sleep on, $50 can feed a refugee child for a month, and $100 can provide medicines for refugee families for a month.

I am aking you to support me in my Swimming for Refugees cause. Just a small donation  can help me accomplish my goal of $30,000.

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Donations 

  • Cassie Nebeker
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs
  • Lex Prince
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 6 yrs
  • Davis & Bott
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Dana Plaza
    • $20 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Dr. Randell Capener
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
Donate

Organizer

Joëlle Brown-Beard
Organizer
Brigham City, UT

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