Will Swim for Food

Feed the Hungry Here and Everywhere

By Edita McQuary

Santa Cruz County has an amazing capacity for altruism. If we ever have county motto, that word should be a part of it. The dictionary defines altruism as “the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.”

There is an unusual group of people in this county who have made it a habit for the past six years to swim around the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in December when the water is around 53 degrees to raise money to feed the hungry. Besides “altruistic,” other adjectives come to mind.

The crazy idea started in 2010 with Nick Alaga of Plantronics, a company that has been a big supporter of Second Harvest Food Bank. Nick had a goal of getting ten friends to sponsor him as he swam around the Wharf. A few friends joined him, and to their amazement, they raised $3,200 for SHFB. The following year more friends joined until last year they had about 70 swimmers and raised approximately $72,000!

Most of the funds raised support our local Second Harvest Food Bank, however, in the past couple of years the swimmers have been able to designate a food bank outside of Santa Cruz County so the funds raised have gone throughout the country to feed hungry people everywhere.

One of the regulars swimming with Nick and friends is Dale Sollom-Brotherton of Scotts Valley. All of the Sollom-Brothertons are swimmers. Dale and wife Jan are former UCSC Slugs although they have lived a good deal of their lives in Dublin, California before returning to Santa Cruz County in 2009.

Both of their sons had swimming careers in high school and college. Older son, Noel, teaches art and English at his former high school in Dublin and coaches the swim team. Younger son, Galen, is a U.S. college champion and is Assistant Swim Coach and teaches fitness at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

So far Dale has swum around the Wharf each but one of the last four years and Jan, who has had some health issues, miraculously managed to do it twice. Neither one wears a wetsuit. Dale has been the pastor at Christ Lutheran Church-Aptos since 2009 and he’s strongly encouraged the members of the congregation to come out and support him and the other demented swimmers in ice cold water for the sake of feeding the hungry in Santa Cruz County.

This year’s swim will be on January 16, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. when it will be even colder water temperature than in December. Come on out and support these crazy, brave people.

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See the website: WillSwimForFood.com.