A Distance Swim Fundraiser for a Cause Close to the Heart
The Rotary Club of Westlake Village Sunrise is pleased to announce the Laps for Life Fundraiser. Our Past President, Jim Wisdom, will be distance swimming again in 2025 to raise funds for two causes near to his heart this upcoming April –– Swim with Mike and the humanitarian projects of the Westlake Village Sunrise Rotary Club.
Swim With Mike provides financial resources for the advanced education of physically challenged athletes to overcome their tragedies and realize their full potential. Over the past 42 years, the nonprofit has raised approximately $28,000,000 and provided scholarship assistance to 271 scholarship recipients at 142 universities nationwide since Swim With Mike’s inception.
Jim Wisdom-Background Information
As an age group swimmer growing up, Jim had broken five national swim records and was on track to have an opportunity to achieve his goal of making an Olympic swim team. On April 12, 1974, Jim was on Easter break in Escondido (where he grew up) visiting his old neighbor, David Ross. Jim’s family moved from Escondido to Palos Verdes in 1971, and his family still owned some avocado trees on the property of his old house in Escondido. So, Jim and David went to pick some avocados from those trees. Unfortunately, Jim fell from an avocado tree and landed on the back of his neck. He fractured his left wrist, and he fractured three vertebrae in his neck ( C-2, C-3 and C-4). While this injury kept Jim out of swimming for about a year, he was extremely fortunate he avoided paralysis.
We hope that you support this fundraising campaign by donating below. Past President Jim has set a personal goal of 325 laps with a financial goal of $10,000 for this event and will be personally donating $.50 per lap to these meaningful causes. His wife got rid of most of his swimming awards, so he could really use the support.
