Event organizers Zoe Treitman and Leah Thomson (left to right) give a speech to the crowd. —Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard 
—Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard 
—Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard 
—Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard 
—Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard. 
—Courtesy Swim Across America – Martha’s Vineyard
As the sun rose on Meneshama beach on Saturday, hundreds of Islanders and visitors made their way into the cold up-Island water, riding the tide against cancer at the inaugural Martha’s Vineyard Swim Across America open-water swim.
The event, led by two local 17-year-old students Leah Thomson and Zoe Treitman, raised $334,043 for the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, surpassing the original fundraising goal by over $100,000.
Nationally, Swim Across America (SAA) is a non-profit organization that raises funds for cancer research and clinical trials through open-water and pool swims in more than 27 locations across the country. Since its inauguration in 1987, each local branch of the initiative, now including Martha’s Vineyard, annually meets swimmers and volunteers to fundraise for cancer research, prevention, and treatment programs.
Saturday kicked off early with swimmer check-ins starting at 7 am, followed by the opening ceremony and safety talk led by Treitman and Thomson. Children eight and under were the first ones to make waves in the kids’ splash, followed by swimmers who swam distances of either ¼ mile, ½ mile, or 1 mile in support of cancer research.
In April, Thomson said in an interview with the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School newspaper The High School View, which is published in The Times, that they decided to spearhead the event on the Vineyard after hearing about Nantucket’s swim and being inspired by friendly competition. “There’s an open-water swim in Nantucket, and it’s been going on for about 10 years, and they broke their $1 million mark last year,” she said. “So we were reading that in the news, and thought it would be great to have one on the Island because there’s just so much fundraising potential here.”
Trietman said in April “we’re hoping to raise $200,000,” which was surpassed by $134,043 by Saturday.
The funds will go directly to the local cancer center, which will bring more access to care on the Island for Vineyarders and their families. It eliminates the need to travel off-Island for parts of the treatment and contributes to making the experience easier for those fighting cancer.
The event also attracted celebrities and notable Island residents such as Seth Meyers. Members of the Kennedy family also joined the swim this past weekend.
Thomson and Treitman hope to continue fundraising for local cancer treatment with the new Martha’s Vineyard branch of Swim Across America in the following years.
Both event organizers said in April that their experiences with loved ones who had cancer was a spark for their drive to initiate the program on Martha’s Vineyard. “My grandmother passed away when I was in elementary school from breast cancer, and I saw how that affected my mom.” Thomson said, “Something that people have been saying to us is that instead of being scared about [cancer], we’re doing something about it,”