Cross Country Swim for Veterans
Donation protected
Hello,
My name is Bobby Powell and I am a Navy Veteran. I am seeking sponsorship in my quest to raise awareness for Veteran suicide prevention and get disabled vets off the couch and back into athletics.
I am a Rescue Swimmer by trade and am training to swim from Denver CO to mile marker zero of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans starting in the spring of 2018. I’ll start next to Broncos stadium in the South Platte River and swim across Colorado. The river joins the Platte River in Nebraska where I will swim eastward until it joins the Missouri river. I swim that until it joins the Mississippi and from there down to the Gulf of Mexico; some 2,364 miles or so.
To be sure, this is not as easy as it sounds, I am an adaptive athlete. I have a titanium rod holding my left arm together making swimming a tad more difficult. I have diabetes, neuropathy and diverticulitis. but I will prevail. I have joined with the B-Bold project of The Fitch Foundation where the idea is for athletes with adaptive issues to overcome and acclimatize whatever the matter may be. I believe very strongly that I can complete this big swim and am executing my plan now.
I began training in Jan 2016 and currently swim the mile in 36 minutes in the pool. I will begin open water training in April 2016 in the Potomac River. This coming July, I will swim from Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant #1 at 1510 Cherry Hill Rd, Dumfries, VA to Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant #2 at 5411 Pavilion Drive King George, VA. This is roughly a 17 mile swim in the Potomac and is my kick off to bigger and grander things.
In the summer of 2017, I plan to swim from the Washington Naval Yard in DC to the Little Creek Amphibious Base in the Norfolk VA area; roughly 185 miles. This swim will be conducted in day light hours only and broken up into approximately 15 miles legs each day. I will have a boat or kayak along for each of these swims.
By the time Spring of 2018 arrives, I will be ready for the 5-6 months of swimming it will take to finish.
The money I raise will be used to generate awareness across the country about the high rate of veteran suicides each day. I will also raise awareness of programs such as the B-Bold Project that helps adaptive athletes succeed in their sport goals. Any veteran with any disability can begin again and do something to get off of the couch; I am proof of that and that is the main goal of the Fitch Foundation. These funds will also help offset the cost of my training, equipment and the support to complete the final swim in 2018.
Saving lives has always been important to me from my lifeguard days in high school, to becoming a Navy Rescue Swimmer and Combat Rescue Specialist, to after the military where I still work in the Search and Rescue field. I see too many good men and women taking their lives each day; people who have served our country; people not so unlike me. All lives matter in the big scheme of things and I will continue to do my part till I can no longer help one more person.
The Rescue Swimmer motto is: So Others May Live. I thank you in advance for helping me to continue to serve those who have served our great nation.
My name is Bobby Powell and I am a Navy Veteran. I am seeking sponsorship in my quest to raise awareness for Veteran suicide prevention and get disabled vets off the couch and back into athletics.
I am a Rescue Swimmer by trade and am training to swim from Denver CO to mile marker zero of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans starting in the spring of 2018. I’ll start next to Broncos stadium in the South Platte River and swim across Colorado. The river joins the Platte River in Nebraska where I will swim eastward until it joins the Missouri river. I swim that until it joins the Mississippi and from there down to the Gulf of Mexico; some 2,364 miles or so.
To be sure, this is not as easy as it sounds, I am an adaptive athlete. I have a titanium rod holding my left arm together making swimming a tad more difficult. I have diabetes, neuropathy and diverticulitis. but I will prevail. I have joined with the B-Bold project of The Fitch Foundation where the idea is for athletes with adaptive issues to overcome and acclimatize whatever the matter may be. I believe very strongly that I can complete this big swim and am executing my plan now.
I began training in Jan 2016 and currently swim the mile in 36 minutes in the pool. I will begin open water training in April 2016 in the Potomac River. This coming July, I will swim from Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant #1 at 1510 Cherry Hill Rd, Dumfries, VA to Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant #2 at 5411 Pavilion Drive King George, VA. This is roughly a 17 mile swim in the Potomac and is my kick off to bigger and grander things.
In the summer of 2017, I plan to swim from the Washington Naval Yard in DC to the Little Creek Amphibious Base in the Norfolk VA area; roughly 185 miles. This swim will be conducted in day light hours only and broken up into approximately 15 miles legs each day. I will have a boat or kayak along for each of these swims.
By the time Spring of 2018 arrives, I will be ready for the 5-6 months of swimming it will take to finish.
The money I raise will be used to generate awareness across the country about the high rate of veteran suicides each day. I will also raise awareness of programs such as the B-Bold Project that helps adaptive athletes succeed in their sport goals. Any veteran with any disability can begin again and do something to get off of the couch; I am proof of that and that is the main goal of the Fitch Foundation. These funds will also help offset the cost of my training, equipment and the support to complete the final swim in 2018.
Saving lives has always been important to me from my lifeguard days in high school, to becoming a Navy Rescue Swimmer and Combat Rescue Specialist, to after the military where I still work in the Search and Rescue field. I see too many good men and women taking their lives each day; people who have served our country; people not so unlike me. All lives matter in the big scheme of things and I will continue to do my part till I can no longer help one more person.
The Rescue Swimmer motto is: So Others May Live. I thank you in advance for helping me to continue to serve those who have served our great nation.
Organizer
Bobby Powell
Organizer
Neabsco, VA
