Milton Masters have organized and participated in Heart Swims for almost 30 years. We have been fundraising for Heart & Stroke longer than they have kept records (before the arrival of computers). For this reason, we do not know the exact total of our fundraising efforts from the past 30 years, but we do know that it exceeds $50,000.
Annually, Milton Masters dedicates one of our practices to be a fundraising event for Heart & Stroke. The format of the swim has changed over time, but the focus is always on fundraising. Most recently we have used a fun format that encourages teams to wear costumes while competing in fun relays. Smiles prevail and the whole team supports this worthy cause.
Over the years, many of our members have lost spouses to heart disease. Each loss has renewed our determination to fundraise, raise awareness, and increase technical advancement in the fight against heart disease. For the past two years, we’ve had an even bigger incentive as one of our swimmers was struck by a very fast moving form of heart disease. Donna was swimming with us in December 2014 and was on the heart transplant list by January 2015 and in May of that same year she received a new heart.
We are very grateful for all the advancements that have been achieved and are happy to have contributed towards the research that saved Donna's life, as well as the lives of others in the future. We were thrilled to support Donna as she recently competed in the Transplant Games in Toronto. Without Heart and Stroke fundraising the outcome may have been very different. To read more about Donna Hart's amazing story check out this article from the Milton Champion.