SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ)- A group of kids in Shawano is finding a way to make a difference for a group of people and one special coach.
After finding out their former coach Walberto Colon experienced Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico first hand, members of the Shawano Swim Club recently completed a lap swim pledge drive to raise money for hurricane relief.
“It hit their hearts and our swim family. They all love Walberto and his family and they all wanted to do whatever they could do to help.”
Tess Hendricks, President of the Shawano Stingrays said that came in the form of swimmng laps.
29 swimmers collected pledges for each lap swam in a 90 minute period.
For some, it was jump in the pool and see what they could do.
For Gabi Bukoski, Hendricks daughter, it wasn’t her first rodeo, and she set her goals high.
“I got 90 last year so I wanted to do 100 laps this year. I did not want to set it too much higher than 90 because I wanted to make sure I got it.”
Hendricks put that goal into perspective.
“99 laps is three miles, so you can imagine that if they do that, there muscles hurt and legs hurt, and they are really tired when it is done.”
Bukoski did reach her goal and then some. She finished with the most laps, but it came with a price worth fighting for.
“At first I felt like I was going to die and then when I had five laps left, I was thinking, maybe I can just finish.”
Walberto Colon has been associated with the swim club for years, and returned from Puerto Rico before the challenge, and much even gave the swimmers a surprise.
“Walberto himself jumped in the pool and decided to swim with these kids” Hendricks said. “To see the look of excitement on the kids faces was the best part of this whole thing.”
“I was really surprised because I did not think he was going to come” Bukoski said.
Colon said he was touched by the efforts that kids put forward.
“It’s happy for me to see that they care for me and that is a very good feeling” he said.
Colon said the experience of being inside a hurricane is too difficult to explain.
“During the hurricane it was 18 hours of over 100 miles per hour wind.
Colon, who has always been known for keeping a positive attitude may surprise people with feelings about the experience.
“I don’t consider it a tragedy for me, it was meant to happen. You do realize that you do not have any control and we think we have control all the time, that is not true” he said. “I hope these kids learned they can make a difference in the world and not just look to help me.”
Hendricks said the lap swim offers multiple lessons. Along with helping someone in need, it also is a good training for the upcomming season, especially for the younger and less experienced kids.
“A lot of kids surprise themselves.”
In the end, the group of 29 swimmers swam over 15 hundred laps in 90 minutes, and the donations for the cause are still being collected and counted.
Hendricks said they raised more than two thousand dollars
