Officers from York Regional Police's marine unit will be swimming Lake Simcoe this weekend to make a Splash for Southlake, a fundraiser for cancer care at the Newmarket hospital.
On Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 a.m., the swimmers will enter the water at Friday Harbour in Innisfil and swim relay style back to the marine unit headquarters at 57 Lorne Street in Jackson's Point. It's about a 16-kilometre swim and they are expected to finish by 3 p.m.
"October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we've decided to partner with Southlake Regional Health Care Centre to raise awareness and raise funds for cancer research and treatment," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby, the officer in charge of the unit who will be one of the swimmers Saturday.
The initiative is being championed by one of the members of the unit, Const. Jodi Haugh.
"[Haugh] was inspired by ... a York Regional Police officer who was unfortunately diagnosed with breast cancer," Busby said. "She stepped up and she asked for the support from her the rest of her team, and we all absolutely jumped up at the opportunity to help out."
He said Haugh was a competitive swimmer when she was in school and he expects she'll swim a lot of the distance, but other members of the marine unit will be swapping out so there's always someone in the water. Given the lower lake temperature, Busby said they will have a boat nearby so swimmers can get out of the water for regular wellness checks and use that time every hour to also share some water safety tips.
"We're hoping that you'll be able to not only donate for the great cause, but also to realize that there's some very important safety tips that the marine unit would like to pass on," he said.
Donations to the campaign can be made online. The goal is to raise $20,000 and so far they are more than half way there.
"This is just one of the ways that the York Regional Police, and also the marine unit in specific, gives back to the community. We're very fortunate to have a very supportive community of our police and we just want to be able to give back," Busby said. "Also we want to be able to give back to Southlake Regional Health Centre due to the fact that a lot of our officers are treated there as well."
He said the marine unit is hoping for good weather, low winds and waves for the swim.
